Thirty-six cyclists are today starting an ambitious 1,000km ride around the coast of Sicily in aid of the ALIVE Charity Foundation, which raises vital funds for cancer research.
The six-day ride will see the cyclists tackle the entire coastal route around Sicily, reaching an elevation of 8,000 metres before making their way back to Pozzallo.
“Our big plan is to ride for six days until May 6, rain or shine, all to help raise money for this very worthy cause,” one of the cyclists said. “We are all conscious of the fact that the University of Malta needs financial support to fund cancer research. Every donation helps us to reach our goal of investing more in research, to improve the quality of life for cancer patients across Malta and beyond.”
As the first local foundation to raise funds and awareness for medical research in Malta, ALIVE Charity Foundation believes that the most effective way to combat cancer is by offering focused support for all those affected by it, while investing in strategic research that speeds up diagnosis, identifies causes and, eventually, may find cures.
While ALIVE funds PhD scholarships at the University of Malta, since its start in 2013, it has donated over €135,000 towards breast cancer research, €170,000 towards children’s cancer research and €80,000 towards a children’s recreational area within Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre – all with the help of corporate sponsors and public donations.
Between 2019 and 2021, the foundation also donated a sum totalling €227,000 to the University of Malta to sustain seven cancer research projects through the COVID-19 pandemic, which abruptly halted the rapid momentum of research hard-won in previous years.
Among other corporate sponsors of the upcoming challenge, supermarket chain Welbee’s has donated to ALIVE as a ‘supporting sponsor’ towards cancer research. On April 23, during one of the training sessions in preparation for the challenge, the team of cyclists stopped at Welbee’s in Pendergardens. Here, Welbee’s head of marketing Joseph Vassallo presented a donation to Elton Barry, the secretary of the ALIVE Charity Foundation.
One may donate by BOV mobile app to +356 9999 9654, or via Paypal at https://www.paypal.com/ donate/?hosted_button_id=LG6DMAAUN3G9N.