BK Cancer Foundation raises $100K for NY-area hospitals

Nation's Restaurant News, Feb 18, 2002

NEW YORK -- The Burger King Cancer Foundation of Metro New York, formed in 1998 by franchisees, corporate employees and friends of the Burger King brand in the tri-state market, made a donation of $100,000 to hospitals in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut in 2001.

Presented by foundation president Robert Wallstein and board member Mike Wallstein, the gifts went to the New Brunswick-based Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Hope & Heroes Children's Cancer Hospital unit of New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Yale Cancer Center and the Valerie Fund.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey provides comprehensive care, research, cancer-prevention education, clinical trials and experimental therapy. The Hope & Heroes Children's Cancer Hospital focuses on treatment and cancer cure research. The Yale Cancer Center, which was the first institution to discover and administer chemotherapy, provides patient care, research and community outreach. The Valerie Fund, established in 1976 in memory of 9-year-old Valerie Goldstein, offers care, counseling and developmental activities at eight children's centers.

The Burger King Cancer Foundation of Metro New York generates funds through several events each year, including the annual Easter Egg Drive, held at more than 300 area corporate-owned and franchised Burger King units, and through public and corporate donations from such groups as Citicorp and Merrill Lynch.

The foundation's major fundraiser is the annual Golf & Tennis Classic supported by four key partners: Coca-Cola, Maines Paper & Food Service, Dr Pepper and Madison Square Garden.