For 16 years, Cycle for Survival has been raising critical dollars for rare cancer research at MSK. To date, Cycle for Survival has raised more than $326 million, and 100% of every dollar is channeled into pioneering research and lifesaving clinical trials within six months after the close of fundraising each year. Over 1,000 RBC Capital Markets employees have been pedaling tirelessly in support of Cycle for Survival and MSK for 10 years, contributing $1.7 million and counting to the cause.
In 2022, RBC partnered with MSK to develop “The RBC Initiative in Pediatric Immuno-Oncology” to help scientists at MSK Kids harness the power of the immune system to fight pediatric cancer. Since then, funds raised by RBC employees through Cycle for Survival have supported this critical effort.
Riding for Bailey
This year’s Team RBC fundraising has taken on a more personal meaning, earmarking their support for a team set up by a colleague, Catherine Crews Buell, Managing Director and Head of Syndicate for Municipals at RBC Capital Markets.
Catherine is riding for the Bailey’s Warriors team – named for her nine-year-old daughter, who’s being treated for a rare cancer at MSK. The team recently fundraised over $1 million in donations and is the first Cycle for Survival team in its 17-year history to raise over $1 million in a single season.
On her Cycle for Survival fundraising page, Catherine explains her motivation. “I ride for the obvious – raising money in hopes of finally finding the cure that beats this awful disease once and for all,” she says.
“But more than anything, I ride for Bailey, who has the heart of a lion and a smile that radiates from coast to coast. She's funny, she's mischievous, she's smart and she's just a kid who wants to be back with her friends.”
Although pediatric cancer is categorized as a “rare cancer,” it is the #1 disease-related cause of death for children. Because rare cancers are uncommon, it can be difficult to receive a diagnosis, find doctors who are knowledgeable about the condition, and receive effective treatments.
For all these reasons, it’s important to accelerate support for these patients. Centers such as Memorial Sloan Kettering need funding for leading-edge research, world-class cancer care, and education programs to train the next generation of cancer specialists.
How to add your support
In March 2023, 100 colleagues took to the stationary saddle in New York and Toronto in a ride presented by RBC Capital Markets. So far this year, RBC employees have raised more than $290,000 for Cycle for Survival, and they aren’t done yet! Four additional rides are scheduled this spring in Palo Alto, Boston, and Chicago. RBC also has a virtual team for the first time this year.
Support Team RBC as they continue to ride and raise funds in support of this vital work. 100% of every dollar you donate will support rare cancer research at MSK.
Cycle for Survival - An unstoppable movement
Cycle for Survival was founded by an MSK patient, Jennifer Goodman Linn, and her husband, Dave.
Jen and Dave had been recently married when Jen developed symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as a rare sarcoma. She founded Cycle for Survival as a way to give back and fund research to cure rare cancers, once and for all.
What started as a single stationary cycling event involving Jen and her family, friends and colleagues has since generated national momentum, becoming an annual, unstoppable movement in locations across the U.S.