The MACC Fund, Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer, Inc. is proud and grateful to be associated with the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association for the 39th consecutive year through the annual WBCA All-Star Games. Congratulations to each of the players, coaches and their families on the honor of participating in these great games.
We commend the WBCA for all of its fine work in organizing the games. Special thanks to everyone in attendance for supporting this great event and subsequently the young people with cancer and related blood disorders like aplastic anemia and sickle cell disease. The WBCA has contributed $2.2 million since 1978. Last year’s games raised $126,000 thanks to the hard work and commitment of the players and coaches in raising funds from generous donors and advertisers. The MACC Fund is indebted to these players, coaches and their supporters.
The MACC Fund is a non-profit charitable corporation that was formed 40years ago in 1976 on Jon McGlocklin’s retirement night from the Milwaukee Bucks on the floor of the Milwaukee Arena. The intent then, as it is now, was to support research into the effective treatment and cure of childhood cancer and related blood disorders like sickle cell disease and aplastic anemia.
McGlocklin’s friend, Eddie Doucette and his wife Karen, had a child Brett who was diagnosed with cancer in 1975 as a 2-year-old. Brett was the MACC Fund’s first success story and is now married and living in Arizona. Eddie Doucette remains the Fund’s Honorary Vice President and co-founder while McGlocklin remains as President and co-founder.
McGlocklin is a member of the WBCA Hall of Fame, the Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame and the Indiana Hall of Fame. Doucette, the Bucks first radio broadcaster, is a consultant with the NBA and was inducted into the Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2011.
Since the inception of the MACC Fund in 1976, it has contributed $56 million to support pediatric cancer and blood disorder research. The MACC Fund supports research conducted in the MACC Fund Research Center of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, at the University of Wisconsin’s Carbone Cancer Center in Madison in the MACC Fund Childhood Cancer Research Wing and at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa in the MACC Fund Center for Cancer. The research conducted at these institutions impacts children with cancer and related blood disorders throughout Wisconsin and the United States.
Cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death in children after the newborn period. Statistics show that 1 out of 1,000 children will contract some form of cancer by the age of 15. Over the past 40 years, the overall cure rate for childhood cancer has risen from 20 percent to over 80 percent. Significant strides have been made, but far more needs to be done and even children in the 80% category can relapse and have “late effect” issues which require more research. Your support of the WBCA All-Star Games will help ensure this.
On behalf of the MACC Fund and the children with cancer and their families, thank you for your support of the 39th Annual WBCA All-Star Games. We wish all of the players and coaches a heartfelt “Good luck!”
Executive Director - John Cary
The MACC Fund - (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer, Inc.)
10000 W. Innovation Drive, Suite 135, Milwaukee, WI 53226
414-456-5830 / 800-248-8735 / fax 414-456-6170
Website / www.maccfund.org / email info@maccfund.org