Each year in April, the V Foundation hosts Virginia Vine. The annual signature event highlights Virginia’s wine and their renowned cancer research centers while raising funds for the V Foundation’s mission.

Today, we’ll start by speaking to Danielle Lavetan, the V Foundation’s Director of Signature Events, about what we can expect from the event and how you can join. Then, we’ll speak with special guest from both of our Mission Partners: Dr. Jose Trevino, the Surgeon-in-Chief of VCU Massey Cancer Center and Dr. Tom Loughran, Director of UVA Cancer Center.

To learn more about Virginia Vine, please visit v.org/get-involved/signature-events/virginia-vine/

The madness of March is well under way and so today, we bring on ESPN Basketball Analyst and V Foundation Board Member Jay Bilas. One of the brightest and funniest names in sports, Jay is incredibly passionate about cancer research. We talk about why joining the V Foundation board was an easy call, ESPN’s top-to-bottom passion for supporting cancer research, his memory of NC State’s 1983 National Championship run and his pick for who will win it all in this year’s tournament.

To learn more about the V Foundation or to donate, visit v.org.

*Note: this was recorded prior to the start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

It’s March and college basketball is once again taking over the national landscape. As we fill out our brackets, we consider who could join the pantheon of Jim Valvano and the ’83 Wolfpack as legends of the NCAA Tournament. With that in mind, we speak with Ralph Sampson, without question one of the greatest college basketball players of all time as a three-time winner of the Naismith Player of the Year Award. Today, we talk to Ralph about his father’s battles with cancer, why he’s become an important part of the V Foundation’s Virginia Vine fundraiser and what he and his teammates really thought about taking on the Cardiac Pack in 1983.

To learn more about the V Foundation or to donate, please visit www.v.org.

Today, we speak with Jim Ryan, SVP of Constellation Brands. Each year, Constellation Brands rallies a nationwide network of distributors to raise money in support of the V Foundation. The partnership began more than a decade ago and since then they have raised nearly $20 million. We talk about why a partnership with the V Foundation made sense for Constellation, the benefits of partnering with a nonprofit and he continues to motivate his staff with each passing year.

Is your company looking for a way to give back? Learn more about the V Foundation at https://www.v.org/collaborators/becoming-a-partner/.

Today, we’re joined by someone who may be more often associated with Jim Valvano than any other public figure: the star of the 1983 National Champion men’s basketball team from NC State, Dereck Whittenburg. Dereck has long been an integral member of the V Foundation team and today we’ll talk about the day he met Jim, the legacy of that 1983 team and why staying involved with the V Foundation has always been so important to him.

To learn more about the V Foundation or to get involved or donate, please visit v.org.

Today, we talk to Dr. Bill Nelson, the director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, V Foundation board member and the chair of the V Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). We chat with Dr. Nelson about his role with the SAC and how they determine which scientists fit the bill to receive a V Foundation grant. We’ll also talk about how his career led him to this point (including his dashed dreams of being a soccer star ⚽️) and where he sees cancer research headed in the future.

Learn more about how our grants are awarded or how you can get involved with the V Foundation at www.v.org.

2020 has changed a lot, but one thing it hasn't changed is the urgent need for continued cancer research. Today, we’re speaking with three V Foundation supporters about how their lives have been touched by cancer and why they've chosen to support the V Foundation. First, we’ll talk to Mark Holwerda about the passing of his father and the connection to both research and basketball that led him to support the V Foundation. Then, we’ll speak with Bonnie Amendola who’s long list of people she knew who had passed away from cancer filled nearly three pages. And finally, we find out why cancer survivor Ray Cox was motivated to use his story for good thanks to both Jim Valvano's and Stuart Scott’s memorable ESPY speeches.

We are so grateful for all of our supporters and listeners who have joined us this year and we hope you all have a safe and restful holiday season. We look forward to continuing our Voices for Victory journey in 2021.

Learn more about how you can get involved with the V Foundation at www.v.org.

It’s V Week! Each year, our friends at ESPN shine a spotlight on the V Foundation and encourage their viewers to join them in donating to lifesaving cancer research. This year, there’s a focus on the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund. This fund, established by ESPN and the V Foundation, honors the memory of the unforgettable Stuart Scott. A champion of cancer research, Stu was especially driven to improve outcomes for African Americans and other minorities disproportionately affected by cancer and the fund continues with that mission.

Today, we speak to Sage Steele about Stuart. She first met him like most of us, watching on TV. But, when they met at a conference he gave her some helpful advice - not knowing they would go on to be colleagues and great friends. ESPN’s Sage Steele has been a staple at the SportsCenter desk since she arrived in 2007 and joined the V Foundation’s Board of Directors last year. On this episode, we’ll talk about how she met Stuart and how they became such great friends, the legacy he left behind and Sage’s hero - her dad - who has also been diagnosed with cancer.

Today, we’re focusing on the BRCA gene and how mutations to it can be so impactful. As we continue to learn more about genetics and how that can effect our health, specifically in regards to cancer, BRCA is something you might be hearing more about. But what do we really know about it? We talk to Carole Wegner, PhD, HCLD, and the V Foundation’s SVP of Grants and Research Administration to clear up some misunderstandings about the BRCA gene and to fill us in on how the V Foundation is funding research related to it. Then, we talk with Jennifer Halsey who lost both her mom and aunt to cancer and tested positive for the BRCA gene mutation herself. She tells us about the decisions prompted by that positive test and all she’s gone through following it.

Today our guest is actor and director James Roday Rodriguez. James, who plays Gary, a cancer survivor, on the hit ABC show A Million Little Things, has joined forces with WWE Superstar the Miz to take on a Fantasy Football Challenge this season to raise money for cancer research. We’ll chat about why playing a cancer survivor was an important and personal role for him and how it’s helped him connect with people who’ve gone through a cancer journey themselves. We also discuss his Fantasy Football Partnership with the Miz and why the V Foundation was their charity of choice in that endeavor.

(Recorded October 12)