The fight against children’s cancers at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center received a boost from the fifth annual BK Beat Cancer for Kids campaign. The month-long campaign in July raised $155,000.
The campaign, which was spearheaded by Simmonds Restaurant Management (SRM), ran in more than 70 Burger King Restaurants throughout the Omaha and Des Moines areas. During the course of the campaign, the participating restaurants came under new ownership by Burger King Corporation.
Customers at the restaurants were asked to donate $1 for a winning scratch off ticket. Each ticket included a free Burger King food item and a chance to win the grand prize, a 2008 Mazda CX7 valued at $24,000, donated by the Woodhouse Auto Family. Burger King announced the grand prize winner from among the qualifying contestants recently at the KPTM Fox 42 television studios.
Among five contestants for the car, Kevin Kennedy, 22, a recent college graduate of Omaha, won the grand prize. He bought his scratch off card at lunch with a friend. “I never thought I’d win. I was shaking when they announced that I’d won,” said Kennedy. “I cannot believe it.”
The donors of the car, Woodhouse Auto Family owners, Lance and Becky Pittack, said they participated in the campaign to help fight cancer and to give back to the community. “We feel this was a great cause,” said Lance Pittack. “Our organization has been very blessed by the community and we wanted to give back.”
Since 2004, the BK Beat Cancer for Kids campaign has raised more than $695,000 to benefit research in pediatric cancers. Last year, the money raised by the campaign funded research projects focused on better understanding brain, soft tissue and connective tissue tumors. Specifically, the money supported researchers’ efforts in examining how the tumors originate and discovering new treatments.
“The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center is extremely grateful to Mike Simmonds and everyone at Simmonds Restaurant Management that work so hard on this campaign, said Kenneth Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. “This is a wonderful partnership. By supporting the ‘Beat Cancer For Kids’ campaign over the last five years the generous people of Omaha and surrounding communities have helped raise over half a million dollars for research in childhood cancers at UNMC.”
He said since 1971, survival rates for children with cancer have increased by 60 percent through improved treatment and drugs through research. “It’s important to stay focused on new therapies. We’re moving into an new era in developing new, tailored drugs so they’re more effective, safer and less toxic,” Dr. Cowan said.
BK Beat Cancer for Kids is a part of Liz’s Legacy, a fund to advance cancer research and treatment through the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. In addition to SRM and Burger King Restaurants, sponsors included KPTM Fox 42 and Star 104.5.
“The community has been so incredibly generous in this campaign from Burger King, to each of our contributing sponsors, to every person that is touched by the real need to help children and their families,” said Tom Thompson, senior director of development for the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. “Cancer indiscriminately affects people that we care about – our neighbors, our classmates, our coworkers and our relatives. It’s hard to imagine that one dollar can really influence cancer research, but because of Burger King’s commitment to families, this campaign is making an impact on finding the best ways to diagnose and treat childhood cancers.” Thompson said.