ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 19, 2023--
Lendmark Financial Services (Lendmark), a leading provider of household credit and consumer loan solutions, continues to support the communities it serves by fighting back against childhood cancer. Lendmark raised $2,000,000 during its 2023 Climb to Cure campaign in support of CURE Childhood Cancer, an Atlanta-based nonprofit with national reach and recognition.
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Kristin Connor, CEO of CURE Childhood Cancer, and Bobby Aiken, CEO of Lendmark Financial Services, at 'The Climb,' an annual awareness and wellness event during the Climb to Cure campaign. (Photo: Business Wire)
During the 2023 campaign, which ran from June through August, Lendmark executives, employees, business partners, and customers raised monies to support the second leading cause of death in children ages 1 to 14. Since beginning its annual Climb to Cure campaign in 2015, $6.73M has been donated to CURE, with the goal of raising $10 million by 2025 to commemorate Lendmark’s ten-year partnership with the nonprofit.
Lendmark’s more than 515 branches across 21 states and three corporate offices generated awareness in their local communities through a variety of events and activities ranging from a Lendmark-sponsored golf tournament to cookout fundraisers, employee baseball gameday, friendly competition, and more. Lendmark customers were invited to give back to the cause, if desired, and contributed more than $67,000 – the most of all time.
“The greatest gift of all is the giving of the gift. With approximately 10,500 children under the age of 15 in the US who were diagnosed with cancer last year, we are unwavering in our commitment to make a difference in the lives of these children and their families,” said Bobby Aiken, CEO of Lendmark Financial Services. “That is why it’s been so rewarding to see how our participation has helped CURE advance its precision medicine program, which genetically sequences cancerous tumors in children and employs targeted therapies to ‘turn off’ those gene mutations.”
The annual Climb to Cure also has an awareness and wellness component called ‘The Climb.’ Hosting its first in-person ‘Climb’ since 2019, Lendmark gathered nearly 150 employees, business partners, families and friends at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga. Attendees ran or walked around the concourse and climbed the stadium steps – symbolic of the challenges that children and teens battling cancer face. Alongside the event, Lendmark held a “virtual climb” throughout the month of August. Employees logged over 31 million steps, representing their commitment to find a cure for childhood cancer in our lifetime.
The need for greater awareness and support for childhood cancer research is critical. CURE, which is dedicated to funding targeted pediatric cancer research while supporting patients and their families, reports that only six drugs have been developed and approved specifically for children, despite cancer being the leading cause of death by disease in children. CURE is dedicated to improving survival and long-term outcomes through precision medicine and other hyper-focused research initiatives.
“Our ongoing partnership with Lendmark is truly like no other – they’ve raised nearly $7M for CURE since 2015 and have increased awareness across the country of the crisis of cancer in children and the need for targeted childhood cancer research,” said Kristin Connor, CEO of CURE Childhood Cancer. “Lendmark has grown to be our largest donor, enabling CURE to fund more critical research each year. Every dollar counts when it comes to saving children’s lives.”
Aiken, alongside the Lendmark team, will be honored at CURE’s 10th annual Believe Ball, presented by Delta Air Lines and Novelis, as the recipient of the Ragab Spirit of Hope Award. The award is named for Dr. Abdel Ragab – Emory University’s first pediatric oncologist and founder of CURE – and honors individuals who exemplify the same dedication and commitment to children with cancer that Dr. Ragab embodied. Visit the Believe Ball website to learn more about this award.
September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is a time to learn more about the realities of childhood cancer and the life-saving research taking place. A cure is possible in our lifetime. Visit CURE’s website to learn more about how to support the fight against childhood cancer in September.
About Lendmark Financial Services
Lendmark Financial Services provides personal and household credit and loan solutions to consumers. Founded in 1996, Lendmark strives to be the lender, employer, and partner of choice by protecting household wealth, offering stability and helping consumers meet both planned and unplanned life events through affordable loan offerings. Today, Lendmark operates more than 515 branches in 21 states across the country, providing personalized services to customers and retail business partners with every transaction. Lendmark is headquartered in Lawrenceville, Ga. For more information, visit www.lendmarkfinancial.com.
About CURE Childhood Cancer
Founded in 1975, Atlanta, Georgia-based CURE Childhood Cancer is dedicated to conquering childhood cancer through funding targeted research while supporting patients and their families. With cancer as the second leading cause of death in children, CURE dedicates more than $5 million in funding to specific research projects aimed at curing cancers that affect children. Through innovative programming, CURE Childhood Cancer also provides crisis-oriented support to patients and their families, addressing their most critical and urgent needs . For more information visit http://www.curechildhoodcancer.org.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230919078609/en/
CONTACT: Lisa Burby
407-921-7775
lburby@lendmarkfinancial.com
KEYWORD: GEORGIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CHILDREN BANKING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HEALTH PHILANTHROPY ONCOLOGY OTHER PHILANTHROPY FUND RAISING FOUNDATION CONSUMER FINANCE
SOURCE: Lendmark Financial Services
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PUB: 09/19/2023 09:00 AM/DISC: 09/19/2023 09:03 AM
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