The energy and enthusiasm of cancer warriors – including scores of our employees – filled Petco Park to the brim today for the annual Pedal the Cause to help raise money for cancer research in San Diego.
Among the sea of participants in this year’s event were 108 cyclists and walkers/runners from our company and parent company Sempra Energy, as well as another 30 employee volunteers. Sempra sponsored this year's Kids Challenge - a family-friendly event where children (some in superhero costumers) rode laps in an enclosed course. Team Sempra/SDG&E was among the top five fundraising teams in the 2018 Pedal the Cause.
One hundred percent of the proceeds raised from the one-day event from everyone who biked, walked, or ran will be donated to lifesaving cancer research projects. This year, more than 2,500 people participated in Pedal the Cause, collectively helping to raise approximately $2.2 million, according to the Pedal the Cause website.
Since starting in 2013, Pedal the Cause has generated more than $7 million to support 52 cancer research projects at four local institutions – UC San Diego Health, Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.
Why Our Employees Participate
Many of our employees who participated in Pedal the Cause 2018 either are cancer survivors themselves, have loved ones who battled cancer, or have lost family and friends to the disease.
For example, Karen Baldestamon is a two-year breast cancer survivor, who was diagnosed at the age of 44 when her daughter was only three years old. Today, she participated in the Pedal the Cause 5K Run/Walk with her daughter and her parents.
Cancer has affected her whole family. Karen lost her grandmother to breast cancer. Her brother Rudy just finished a stem cell transplant at Moores Cancer Center to treat his recurrent lymphoma. Part of UC San Diego Health, the Moores Cancer Center also treated Karen.
More Information
To learn more about our employees’ commitment to create a world without cancer, watch this short video:
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