The Alive Charity Foundation has donated €90,000 for cancer research, having raised the funds from a cycling challenge in Sicily.

The funds were donated to the University of Malta during a ceremony held at the university's biomedical labs.

Set up in 2013, the Alive Charity Foundation has to date donated around €700,000 for cancer research, which funds have supported a number of PhD and masters scholarships and seven research projects, some of which are still ongoing.

During the donation ceremony, Prof. Christian Scerri, on behalf of the cancer research teams at the University of Malta gave an overview of how the money received from the foundation has been utilised so far.

Nicky Camilleri, chairperson of the foundation, spoke about the determination of the NGO to continue to support cancer research in the hope that one day patients could be able to enjoy a better quality of life.  He thanked all the cyclists who, together with the support team endured physical and emotional difficulties during this year’s 1000km Sicily cycling challenge. He also thanked their main sponsor, Dr. Juice for their strong support in favour of this cause.

Prof. Alfred J. Vella, Rector of the University expressed his gratitude to the foundation which for the past decade had been a strong supporter of the university’s research efforts and appealed for more similar support from other sectors of the community. He stressed the importance of the Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) for brokering such synergies that significantly augment the University’s funds for research.