Wake Forest cancer research fundraiser draws record participants
Student-run event also raises a record amount for cancer research, at more than $348,000
Wake Forest University’s annual Hit the Bricks fundraiser inspired a record number of runners and walkers—more than 2,264—to circle Hearn Plaza on Oct. 1 in support of the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund.
In fact, no other student-led fundraiser at Wake Forest has attracted as many participants.
This year’s Hit the Bricks runners, representing a record 160 teams, raised more than $348,000 for cancer research and patient support at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Preliminary totals were announced during the closing ceremony.
“I love seeing everyone across the Wake Forest community participate in this event,” said Theo Berson, a senior communications major from Avon, Conn., who serves as this year’s Hit the Bricks executive director. “My focus for the last four years has been student engagement and getting the most participants possible, and we have now broken the Wake Forest philanthropy record.”
Wake Forest students created the cancer research fund in 1980 in honor of Brian Piccolo, a Wake Forest All-American football player who lost his battle with embryonal cell carcinoma at the age of 26 while playing in the NFL for the Chicago Bears. His story is told in the film “Brian’s Song.”
Among this year’s runners was Traci Piccolo Dolby, who was a toddler when her dad died. The closing ceremony included a special presentation to Dolby—a portrait of Brian Piccolo painted by Wake Forest junior Kyan Patel. The portrait, which replicates the late running back’s iconic photo as a Chicago Bear, is the first piece in a planned series by Patel, in partnership with the Division of Campus Life and Athletics, to reflect the intersection of athletics and the student experience. The student has a national reputation for creating portraits of sports figures.
Dolby recalled coming to campus with her mother to receive the first donation check from Wake Forest students, and thanked the university community for their commitment to the cause and her father’s memory.
“The way you continue to honor his legacy is something I don’t even have words for,” she said.
Last year, Hit the Bricks raised $311,913. All told, Hit the Bricks has raised more than $2 million for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund since students launched the event in 2003.
Categories: Alumni, Campus Life, Community Impact, Pro Humanitate
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