MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A sea of pink will soon swarm downtown Memphis.
Autozone Park will be home base for the 2015 Mid-South Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure.
Organizers say they had to move from Collierville because they need to grow the event to raise more money for cancer patients right here in the Mid-South.
The race is the group’s largest fundraiser of the year; this year’s Race For The Cure will be circling downtown Memphis.
Elaine Hare with the Susan G. Komen Foundation explained, “Last year we raised $825,000, and we granted $850,000. Even if we gave them every cent the race earned, we can’t meet the need of the community.”
Hare says the bottom line with this move is the bottom line.
They need to raise more money, and moving downtown opens that door for them.
They hope to grow from 15,000 racers in 2014 to more than 20,000.
Mayor Wharton said this race belongs in the heart of the medical district, “I’m trying to build a city for my children and my grandchildren.”
Wharton said events like this race are what young people look for when they consider coming to Memphis, and the downtown course will put breast cancer survivors on display.
“We’ve been known to be too fat and sedentary. We sat around, didn’t do anything. Now we are becoming known as a place of activity,” Wharton explained.
Seventy-five percent of the money raised from the Race For The Cure and other events stays right here in Memphis.
Last year, the group granted $850,000 to area hospitals and local doctors.
They know next year the demand is only going up.
Luckily, so is the survival rate.
Hare added, “The key to early detection is doctor visits and mammograms which is what our Komen grants pay for.”
Last year the race was held at Carriage Crossing, but Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner told WREG, no hard feelings.
Joyner said he understands they need to go, in order to grow.