Playing With Purpose: From the Ball Field to Breakthroughs with Dr. Todd Druley

One of the hallmarks of Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research’s 20-year journey has been the blend of purpose and fun.

Our purpose is raising critical funds for pediatric cancer research while creating unforgettable moments of community and celebration.

That spirit came alive when Rally Foundation hosted the very first Brian McCann Celebrity Softball Game.

Paired with our signature Benefit Bash event, the weekend quickly became known as the Double Play.

The Benefit Bash was hosted on Friday, and the next morning was spent on the ball field.

One night, guests were all dressed up, raising their paddles high to support research. The next morning, those same guests were in jerseys and sneakers, cheering alongside Rally Kids and swinging bats with Major League Baseball stars.

It was the perfect mix of glamour, grit and fun.

While the community was playing and raising funds with purpose, Rally was also funding research in the lab with purpose.

Around this time, we funded a young scientist, Todd Druey, M.D., Ph.D., at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who was just starting his career.

Like Rally itself, his work was in its early stages but filled with promise.

With our seed funding, Dr. Druley developed Error-Corrected Sequencing (ECS), a groundbreaking technology that improved the ability to detect DNA mutations across all cancers by approximately 100-fold.

ECS has advanced precision medicine and next-generation sequencing worldwide, transforming how cancer is diagnosed and treated.

From the ballpark to the lab, these milestones capture the essence of Rally. Fueling big breakthroughs while keeping kids and families at the heart of everything we do.

This is the power of people.

This is the power of purpose.

This is Rally.