Director's Update
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This has been year of real momentum for Winship. In addition to significant advances in many of our research programs, we reached several new highs in terms of donor support and in national recognition. As detailed in the cover story in this issue, our annual giving program has reached and exceeded the $1 million mark for the first time, thanks to generous donors like you. We were also awarded a 5-year renewal of our cancer center designation by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a level of recognition that facilitates many opportunities for our patients to participate in a broad portfolio of cancer clinical trials.
We are especially grateful to our donors for making it possible for us to reach and exceed the $1 million mark in our annual giving efforts this year. This very significant milestone was achieved just seven years after the initiation of Winship’s annual giving program.
Gifts range from $50 to $25,000, some designated to specific cancers, but most undesignated, allowing us to direct the funds immediately in support of our highest research priorities.
I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who gave to our annual campaign or supported Winship in any way. Every gift, regardless of its size, puts us that much closer to discovering better ways to prevent cancer, detect, and treat many of the types of cancer afflicting our neighbors, friends, and family.
Regarding the renewal of our NCI designation status, Winship was rated as an “outstanding” cancer center by a panel of NCI-appointed cancer research experts who reviewed our application. This review is accompanied by a new grant for $7.5 million to be paid over five years. Your gifts demonstrate to the NCI that the Atlanta community and Georgians are behind their NCI-designated cancer center. We are grateful for the NCI’s continuing support and our investigators are fully committed to research that will meaningfully reduce the tremendous impact of cancer on Georgia families. The true beneficiaries of our cancer center designation are the people of Georgia. Thank you for everything you’ve done to make that possible.
Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD
Executive Director, Winship Cancer Institute
