O’Brien’s Takes Top Moffitt Award, 'Fighting Cancer Is Personal'

A Brandon team has picked up an award from the Moffitt Cancer Center for raising more than $8,000 for research that can help end the fight against cancer.

The received the award last month for raising more money than any team in the Tampa Bay area during the cancer center’s Miles for Moffitt fundraiser in May.

The team was sponsored by . O’Brien’s 62-person team joined hundreds of others from across the Bay area for the Miles for Moffitt race May 12 at the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida.

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The Duckies raised $8,266, tops among all 234 teams at the event, and took home the award for "Highest Fundraising Team." In addition, each walker paid $20 to take part in the race, adding another $1,550 to the total, said top duck Dani Gray, who organized the team.

The Duckie’s fundraising effort started long before the team took to the track at USF.

Gray met with O’Brien’s owners Sean Rice and Tony Martin in March to discuss fundraising possibilities.

“I was just expecting maybe a dinner night with us getting a portion of the proceeds. They could have just written us a check but they jumped in with both feet and were a part of the team,” Gray said. “There were also quite a few people in the community who got involved because of O’Brien’s involvement.”  

Insuring they had the largest crowd possible for the fundraising event, the restaurant held raffles and sponsored a “Ken-Ducky-Derby” on Cinco De Mayo, one of O’Brien’s busiest days of the year. Gray and her team also sold drinks on St. Patrick’s Day at O’Brien’s, raising more than $1,000.

Gray presented the O’Brien’s staff with a certificate of appreciation for their efforts on Aug. 7.

“It is in thanks for all the help O’Brien’s gave to our team,” said Gray, whose fundraising effort was inspired by her mother’s battle with cancer.

“Unfortunately, some of those lasting memories I have of my mother are of taking her to chemo treatments, sitting with her while she was sick and trying to hold on to her as she slipped away," Gray said. "Today, I choose to use these memories to inspire me to action."

“We can sit back and hope that one day a scientist finds a cure for cancer or we can be active in helping that scientist find that cure," she added. "I choose to fight the best way I know how, by fundraising for one of the best cancer centers in the country, the one that gave my mother such great care, and, I believe, gave me more time with her, the Moffitt Cancer Center.”

Started in 2005, Miles for Moffitt has raised more than $1million for cancer research.

This year’s race drew 7,180 participants and 234 teams, including a number of virtual runners.

“Miles for Moffitt started as a community event and the community has responded,” said Karen Dalton, Miles for Moffitt founder, in a statement on the charity’s website.

“They have taken it personally because fighting cancer is personal," Dalton added. "Each year the number of participants and teams grows, and more than half of our participants are on a corporate or family team. Miles for Moffitt would like to say a million thanks to everyone who came together to make this year a success. And to everyone at Moffitt, thank you for working so hard to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.”

For more information on O’Brien’s Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies, visit the team’s page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/OBriensFireBreathingRubberDuckies?ref=ts