Members of the Austin High School Youth Leadership Club present a check Tuesday for $2,500 in support of The Hormel Institute's world-renowned breast cancer research. Dr. Joshua Liao, a section leader who is one of the Institute's breast cancer researchers, accepts the check from (left to right) Madison Wuertz, Jaclyn Bird, Olivia Grev and Nate Schwab.

Students give $2,500 from 2nd annual ‘Strides for a Cure’ to support breast cancer research

AUSTIN, Minn. – Tuesday, June 12, 2012 — Austin High School’s Youth Leadership Club donated $2,500 on Tuesday in support of The Hormel Institute’s world-renowned breast cancer research after raising money for the second-straight year through a “Strides for a Cure” 5K walk/run.

Participants prepare to start the Austin High School Youth Leadership Club's 2nd annual "Strides for a Cure" 5K walk/run May 19 at Austin's Todd Park.

Members of the AHS Youth Leadership Club – recently graduated seniors Jaclyn Bird, Olivia Grev and Nate Schwab along with sophomore Madison Wuertz – joined club advisor Emily Hovland in presenting The Hormel Institute with the donation. Funds from the donation will go 100 percent directly toward breast cancer research at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota – Mayo Clinic.

Dedicated to community wide service, the AHS Youth Leadership Club held the 2nd annual “Strides for a Cure” on May 19 at Austin’s Todd Park. The club now has donated $5,000 overall to The Hormel Institute for breast cancer research.

Researchers at The Hormel Institute are continuing aggressive work aimed at making discoveries leading to the prevention and control of breast cancer as well as other types of cancer, said Dr. Zigang Dong, Executive Director of The Hormel Institute. Progress is being made, he added.

“We are deeply thankful for the hard work these students put into the event and for their designation of The Hormel Institute once again as the donation’s recipient,” Dong said. “This type of generous community support is vital to our cutting-edge cancer research, and we are greatly pleased to hear that the students plan to continue this outstanding event.”

A year ago, AHS Youth Leadership Club also presented The Hormel Institute with a $2,500 donation following the inaugural “Strides for a Cure” race at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center in Austin.

“We’ve had great success with the race the past two years and it’s been really fun,” said Madison Wuertz, a sophomore Youth Leadership member. “We’re hoping we can gain more participants next year and continue raising money for a great cause.”

Breast cancer is second to skin cancer as the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States, according to Mayo Clinic, a major collaborative research partner of The Hormel Institute.

The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota – Mayo Clinic is a world-renowned cancer research center and leader in cancer preventative research. The BioScience Triangle growing the collaborative partnership between the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Mayo Clinic-Rochester and The Hormel Institute-Austin is continuing to expand.