LabAnswer and Its Employees Raise More Than $50,000 for CRI

In January of 2016, CRI formed a new corporate philanthropy partnership with LabAnswer, the largest independent laboratory informatics consulting firm in the United States. The partnership focused on raising funds for CRI’s highly successful monthly webinar series for patients, Cancer Immunotherapy and You.

For LabAnswer and its employees, cancer is no stranger. In 2007, founding member Bob Patterson lost his life to the disease. Patterson is one of the many LabAnswer employees who have faced cancer—and part of the reason why LabAnswer sought CRI for a special philanthropy partnership.

“LabAnswer felt the need to support finding a cure for cancer,” says company chairman Patricia Wilson, who was instrumental in the partnership selection process. Wilson and her colleagues found CRI through Charity Navigator, an independent charity rating organization where CRI is among the highest ranking cancer research nonprofits with a four star rating. As a laboratory informatics company, “LabAnswer wanted to find a charity that aligned with our mission to support scientists,” says Wilson. CRI’s focus on research across hundreds of scientists and dozens of labs seemed to be the “perfect fit” for the partnership.

Both CRI and LabAnswer are thrilled by the partnership’s success; since January, LabAnswer and its employees have contributed more than $50,000 to CRI through a variety of fundraising initiatives, including a silent auction, a potluck gathering, March Madness brackets, payroll deductions, and individual contributions. Participating employees span across LabAnswer’s headquarters in Sugar Land, TX, as well as their satellite offices throughout the U.S.

Wilson believes that the partnership and fundraising events have also been an excellent way to engage employees. At the silent auction in Orlando, “the employees really owned the event,” says Wilson, working as a team to coordinate all the logistics and execute a successful event. LabAnswer employees also had the opportunity to learn more about cancer immunotherapy at a company-wide event during Cancer Immunotherapy Month in June, where employees shared a potluck and viewed CRI’s educational videos and Patient Immunotherapy Stories.

CRI is honored to have been selected as LabAnswer’s first ever philanthropy partner. “It is my personal pleasure to thank LabAnswer and its employees for your support of our webinar series,” says Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, Ph.D., CEO and director of scientific affairs at CRI. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with you in the future.”

If you or your organization would like to become a philanthropy partner, please contact our director of strategic initiatives, Sharon Slade, at sslade@cancerresearch.org.