ROI at the ASTRO Annual Meeting
Attendees of the 2018 ASTRO Annual Meeting visited the ROI booth in the Innovation and Solutions Showcase to learn more about ROI's exciting research and how they could help support it.
At the booth, the following lists of names of supporters were displayed:
- The Founders’ Circle, gifts of $12,500 or more to the ROI.
- The President’s Circle, gifts of $1,500, $2,500, $5,000 or more and gifts of $50, $100 or more for residents and associates in 2018 for the Annual Fund.
- Annual Fund donors of $100 or more in 2018.
- Corporate supporters of $10,000 or more.
In addition, the names and photos of the members of the ROI Board of Trustees were displayed and information on the 5K Run for the Future, the RadOnc Toolbox for Android, the Legacy Circle and the 2018 Publication Award Winner were posted at the booth.
The ROI Booth featured the photos of several donors and quotes on why they support the ROI. Also displayed were the photos and messages from several researchers supported by ROI on why the support of the ROI is so important to their work. During the “Meet Our Researchers” sessions, attendees could talk to some of ROI's investigators about their research that the ROI is supporting and how that research is making a difference. Several of the researchers also presented results of their ROI-funded studies at sessions during the Annual Meeting. Researchers sported buttons that said "Ask Me About My ROI Research" throughout the Annual Meeting.
Those who supported the ROI prior to the Annual Meeting were invited to stop by to see their names displayed and to bring others with them who might be considering a gift to the ROI. The ROI staff and volunteers assisted in providing information on the ROI and its work and helped potential donors make their gifts online. A school bell rang with each new gift and the new donor wrote his or her name in neon colors on the chalkboard in the booth.
Attendees who stopped by the ROI booth contributed more than $80,000 to the ROI during the ASTRO Annual Meeting. Included were three new Founders' Circle commitments and seven new 2018 President's Circle members. Among the gifts received were several gifts from residents.
At the meeting, residents were encouraged to apply for ROI grants and to support the ROI as well. One way the residents supported the ROI was in the ROI 5K Run for the Future where ARRO had its own team in 2018. Others made outright contributions to the ROI. Gifts of $50 or above from residents was matched 2:1 by Radiation Business Solutions (RBS). For a gift of $50, RBS donated $100, making the total gift $150. Residents who made gifts received invitations to the Celebration of Giving, where they had the opportunity to meet other donors and leaders of ASTRO and ROI.
Special gift levels were established for residents: President’s Circle Silver at $50 and President’s Circle Gold at $100.
Celebration of Giving
The Radiation Oncology Institute held its Celebration of Giving on Monday night of the Annual Meeting. Supporters of the ROI at leadership levels were invited to the reception where presentations were made to the leading corporate sponsors to the ROI.
In addition, the 2018 ROI Publications Award was presented at the event to Amar Kishan, MD, from UCLA. He also received a $5,000 grant to be used on research that is building upon the work in the award-winning manuscript, “Radical Prostatectomy, External Beam Radiotherapy, or External Beam Radiotherapy With Brachytherapy Boost and Disease Progression and Mortality in Patients With Gleason Score 9-10 Prostate Cancer.”
The 2019 Celebration of Giving will be held on Sunday night, September 15, in Chicago. Leadership donors will again be the invited and the 2019 Publications Award will be presented.
Financial Planning Session
On Sunday, October 21, at 6:45 a.m., a breakfast session on Financial Planning was sponsored by the ROI. More than 65 individuals registered for the session, which covered tax reform, financial planning and charitable giving. Following the session, from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., the financial planner and presenter, Russell LaGreca from Morgan Stanley Wealth Managementmet at the ROI booth with those who had questions or wanted more information on financial planning.
Plans are being made to offer a similar session at the 2019 ASTRO Annual Meeting in Chicago in September 2019.
ROI 5K Run for the Future
On Monday morning, October 22, at 6:44 a.m., the 9th Annual ROI 5K Run for the Future hosted by Radiation Business Solutions began at the Arneson River Theatre just behind the Hilton Palacio del Rio. More than 200 participants ran or walked the 5K course that included the River Walk and parts of the historic Mission Trail. Radiation Business Solutions (RBS) was the host of the 5K Run and covered all expenses. Sponsorships, individual registration fees and all donations went directly to the ROI. The 5K Run for the Future raised more than $37,000 for the ROI. For information on the race results, go to www.roi5K.com.
Thank You to the Corporate Sponsors
Corporate supporters were recognized at the ROI Booth and at their respective booths with circular floor stickers that indicated that they were ROI supporters. Attendees were encouraged to visit these supporters at their booths and to thank them for their support of the ROI. Supporters included: Varian, Elekta, Radiation Business Solutions (RBS), Sun Nuclear, Accuray, Mevion, Augmenix, RadOnc Questions, Northwest Medical Physics Center and VisionTree.
ROI also benefited from the photo booth at the Augmenix Booth where attendees had their photos taken with Augmenix making donations in the attendee's name to the ROI or the Veterans Prostate Cancer Awareness.