The Chuckstrong Initiative

Chuckstrong history

The Chuckstrong initiative began shortly after Chuck Pagano, who was the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2017, publicly shared his leukemia diagnosis in 2012. The Colts immediately sprang into action and launched Chuckstrong. The initial sales of T-shirts and wristbands and other community efforts raised $486,000—all of which was designated for leukemia research and to purchase laboratory equipment. Since then, more than $12 million has been raised for cancer research at IU.  

“Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this fabulous event,” Kelvin Lee, MD, director of the cancer center, said. “And I also want to say that the $12 million really has an impact that's 10 times that size, because that money has gone to catalyze new ideas and new technologies and recruiting new faculty that have expanded the impact of that incredibly generous donation to a much larger extent. And that will have an impact on our patients for decades to come.”

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