Latin for “swift cure,” VeloSano is a year-round, community-driven fundraising initiative. The money raised is a culmination of many efforts, with the flagship fundraising platform being “bike to cure” weekend which occurred July 20-22. Throughout the weekend, 2,023 riders pedaled over 90,000 miles supported by more than 1,000 volunteers. An additional 354 people participated as virtual riders. In total, “bike to cure” participants received nearly 26,000 donations from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 39 countries.

Additionally, funds were raised throughout the year via the newly launched VeloSano Kids initiative that specifically supports pediatric cancer research at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. Over $213,000 of the $4.5 million raised this year was via VeloSano Kids.

“We are extremely grateful for the local, regional, national, and international support of cancer research at Cleveland Clinic,” said Brian J. Bolwell, M.D., FACP, chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute. “One hundred percent of all dollars raised go directly to research efforts across our organization. VeloSano has become a highlight of the summer for northeast Ohio – it is an inspirational community campaign that goes far beyond a bike ride. Our goal remains to discover more about the causes of cancer and develop better ways to treat it, with the ultimate goal of discovering a cure. We remain humbled and thankful for the support of VeloSano.”

The 2018 total was announced Nov. 8 at the VeloSano Bash: Revealing the Cash celebratory event, presented by The Lerner Foundation, at Windows on the River with emcee, Tom Hamilton, the “Voice of the Cleveland Indians.” The $4.5 million will be allocated via the VeloSano Pilot and Impact Awards at Cleveland Clinic, and those projects will begin on March 1, 2019. Beyond the $12.5 million that has been distributed by VeloSano since 2014, over $12.4 million in additional external grants has been received due to the promise shown by projects funded by VeloSano.

VeloSano has gained significant momentum in raising money for cancer research at Cleveland Clinic due to the support of its partners, including but not limited to, the Donna and Stewart Kohl Fund, the Cleveland Indians, Adcom, Jones Day, Lexus, Zack Bruell Events, Celgene, cleveland.com, DiGeronimo Companies, House of LaRose / Michelob Ultra, KeyBank and Lilly Oncology. Funds will be allocated across the enterprise to support the research areas of cancer genomics, immunotherapy and clinical trials.

VeloSano 6 “bike to cure” weekend is scheduled for July 19-21, 2019, and will once again be chaired by Paul Dolan, Chairman and CEO of the Cleveland Indians, and John Saada, Partner at Jones Day. Registration for VeloSano 6 opens in December and includes a special offer: anyone who registers before Jan. 1 to ride 25 miles or more will receive a $25 discount on their registration fee.