Students helped fight cancer by ordering chicken wings at Pluckers on Monday.
Texas 4000, a student charity organization whose members ride bicycles from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska, every summer to raise money for cancer research, is fundraising this week at five restaurants near campus. Each day, a different restaurant will be raising money to be donated to cancer research organizations, including the MD Anderson Cancer Center and LIVESTRONG. The teams final goal is to raise $350,000 by the end of this year.
I think this is another way the students are coming up with creative ways to create funds to fight cancer, said Texas 4000 Executive Director Jamille Ruebsahm. Every dollar is closer to a day when there is no cancer and the fight is over.
When a customer mentions Texas 4000 when ordering at the restaurants, a portion of the sale will be donated, said Matt Song, a Texas 4000 member and biology senior.
We thought it was a great idea to reach out to the community and a great way to fundraise because people are always going to be eating, Song said.
It is important for Texas 4000 to raise money to donate to organizations to use for research facilities, treatment and to pay doctors, Song said. The charity relies on the community and on many people in the world who help their cause financially, he said.
A bigger priority for us is sharing hope, knowledge and prevention information on our journey up to Alaska, Song said.
Tommy Vinyard, an aerospace engineering sophomore and Texas 4000 member, brought his family to eat at Pluckers. His mom, Anne Brown, is a 2004 breast cancer survivor. Brown said she is amazed by the Texas 4000 team and their efforts to support cancer research.
I think its great Texas 4000 is helping raise money to fund research and maybe eventually help find a cure, Brown said. It will definitely help the quality of life. I greatly appreciate what they do.
Cornucopia, located on Guadalupe Street near Veggie Heaven, will donate 20 percent of each sale they make between 4 and 8 p.m. today.
