2022 Give To The Max Day

Pine Tree Apple Classic Fund (PTACF), a Minnesota 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, was formed in 2018 to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic which funds targeted cancer research efforts at Children's Minnesota and over 200 hospitals in 49 countries around the world. Our mission is to be a positive force in the health and well-being of children with childhood diseases and their families, by providing funding, programming and other events and activities to further research around childhood diseases.

Parents should never have to worry about the lack of treatment options available to their sick child. To date, we have raised almost $7 million for research efforts involving rare childhood cancers. Your generous financial support helps provide vital information to cancer specialists and supports research areas where there is little or no national attention. As a result of our fundraising efforts, we have accomplished some amazing things, including the following:

• The inception of the International PPB Registry in 1987. The establishment of this global research program based here in Minnesota and now used in over 49 countries, directly resulted in the discovery of variants in the DICER1 gene as a cause of PPB - the most common lung cancer of children. Since this pivotal discovery in 2009, the mission and vision of Registry research has expanded and now includes study of ovarian, kidney, thyroid and brain tumors and has become a model for other registries to help identify best treatment outcomes.

• The founding of a parallel sister registry called the International Ovarian and Testicular Stromal Tumor Registry. The greater understanding of this spectrum of tumors has led to the creation and refinement of surveillance guidelines facilitating detection of these tumors in their earliest form. The lives of children and adults here in Minnesota and around the world have been saved by early detection made possible by these pivotal discoveries!

• The development of an international prospective clinical trial at Children's Minnesota to translate findings from the lab into clinical care. The goal is to translate new discoveries into less toxic and more effective therapies for childhood and adult cancers. 

• The development at Children's Minnesota of a nationally-recognized model of rehabilitation for childhood cancer patients. This evidence-based model is being taught to cancer centers both nationally and internationally by recognized experts Lynn Tanner PT and Laura Gilchrist PT, PhD - both based in Minnesota.

• The founding of a measure of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy used in clinical trials both nationally and internationally to reduce the long-term consequences of cancer treatment.

• And perhaps our greatest accomplishment of all ... the establishment of the Pine Tree Apple Tennis Classic Endowed Chair in Cancer and Blood Disorders Research at Children’s Minnesota and the appointment of Dr. Kris Ann Schultz as the inaugural holder of the position, marking only the third endowed chair position established in history at Children’s Minnesota. Truly remarkable!

Please help us continue that incredible momentum by investing in the fight to end children's cancer by helping us reach our 2022 Give To The Max goal of $5,000. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Game, Set, Cure!