Texas 4000 cyclists give $75,000 to MD Anderson and Texas Children’s Hospital

Members of Texas 4000 UT Austin team present a $25,000 check to support The Texas Children’s Hospital’s Retiro de Renovación program in Houston, Wednesday, June 5, 2019. The team, which hopes to raise money for cancer research and support services, visited with patients and toured the hospital.

Photo: Juan Figueroa, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Before one of the longest journeys of their lives, student cyclists from the University of Texas at Austin stopped in Houston to help save lives.

The Texas 4000 for Cancer cycling team is riding 4,000-plus miles from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska. Members presented a grant check last week to MD Anderson Cancer Center for $50,000 to help fund its ongoing research on circulating tumor cells analysis for pediatric patients. Another check was presented to Texas Children’s Hospital for $25,000 to help fund its Retiro de Renovación program.

The Retiro de Renovación program is a retreat for Texas Childrens’ Spanish-speaking families who have recently lost a child to cancer. The renewal retreats last one weekend and feature activities, as well as therapy breakout sessions for reflection and expression.

With the Texas 4000 grant, the hospital will be able to host another retreat and extend an invitation to families from the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Cancer and Hematology Clinic in the Rio Grande Valley.

The two Houston hospitals were chosen, along with 13 other organizations across the country and one in Canada, to receive charity grants from Texas 4000.

The bike ride is the longest annual charity bike ride in the world.

Link to article: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/lifestyle/renew-houston/health/article/Texas-4000-cyclists-give-75-000-to-MD-Anderson-13968867.php#photo-17658563