Brenner Children’s Hospital Receives $70,000 from Brett’s Ride Event

January 12, 2012

Funds Help Advance Pediatric Cancer Research

Brenner Children’s Hospital, part of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has received a $70,000 contribution from the eighth annual Brett’s Ride cycling event in Hickory, N.C., that raises money for pediatric cancer research.

The ride, held in October, is named for Hickory native Brett Gosnell, a varsity athlete and class valedictorian at Hickory High School and a student at the University of Virginia who died at age 20 in 2006 after a three-year battle with a rare and aggressive childhood cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma. His family and Lisa Wright, the event’s director, started Brett’s Ride in 2004.

Brett’s Ride has generated more than $940,000 and attracted approximately 8,500 participants since its inception. The 2011 event drew 1,400 riders, 100 sponsors and more than 500 volunteers

The next Brett’s Ride is scheduled for Oct. 9, 2012, at the Hickory Foundation YMCA. Complete information about the event is available online at www.brettsride.org.

Media Relations

Eric Whittington: ewhittin@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-5318