After an absence of 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ALIVE Charity Foundation has once again held their cycling challenge and raised another €90,000 for cancer research undertaken by academics at the University of Malta. The funds were donated to the Research Trust (RIDT) of the University of Malta during a ceremony held at the Biomedical Labs at the University.
Set up in 2013, the ALIVE Charity Foundation has to date donated around €700,000 for cancer research, which funds have supported a number of PhD and Masters scholarships and an additional seven specific research projects, some of which are still ongoing.
During the donation ceremony, Prof. Christian Scerri, on behalf of the cancer research teams at the University of Malta gave an overview of how the money received from the Foundation has been utilised so far.
Mr Nicky Camilleri, Chairperson of ALIVE Charity Foundation spoke about the determination of the NGO to continue to support cancer research in the hope that one day we could be able to live a better quality of life. He went on to describe how Cancer is a reality that affects us all, albeit to different extents. For some, it is a light brush, but for the vast majority, it is a hard struggle. Cancer Research provides an ongoing ray of hope to these patients, their families, friends and their communities. Raising funds to support various cancer research projects remains the main objective of the ALIVE Charity Foundation. He thanked all the cyclists who, together with the support team endured physical and emotional difficulties during this year’s 1000km Sicily cycling challenge to be able to make this happen. He also thanked their main sponsor, Dr. Juice for their strong support in favour of this cause.
Prof. Alfred J. Vella, Rector of the University expressed his gratitude to the ALIVE Charity Foundation who for the past decade have been a strong supporter of the University’s research efforts and appealed for more similar support from other sectors of the community. He stressed the importance of the Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) for brokering such synergies that significantly augment the University’s funds for research.
Also present for the donation ceremony were Opposition Spokespersons for education Justin Schembri, for research and innovation Stanley Zammit and RIDT officials.
