The Chris Stern memorial foundation
funds primary research into immunotherapy - the process of using our bodies immune system to fight sarcomas and other cancers.
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About Us

The Kicks4Chris Foundation was formed by a community of family and friends who were inspired by Chris.

Why was it started?

The Kicks4Chris Foundation was formed by a community of friends who have been inspired by Chris to fund primary cancer research that we believe should result in a more humane and effective approach to treating cancer. You can find out more information about our Board of Directors and other volunteers here.

About Our Name

We called our organization the Kicks4Chris Foundation both because Chris was a sneaker collector and because we hope that one day we will have helped "kick" cancer as our most serious disease The Kicks4Chris Foundation is a qualified tax-deductible charitable foundation under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. You can review the relevant documentation here.

What We Support

This year we began working with the Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Although our support for the University of Miami has produced some significant results, we decided that we wanted to work with a research center closer to our home base.

Why Penn? As we began looking into it, we were very impressed by the nature of the research Penn is doing. It really is in a pretty unique position to make breakthroughs in immunology and other cancer research.

First, Penn has attracted some of the best cancer researchers available. Its reputation and facilities are world class, so if you are among the top tier of researchers Penn is one of the first places you’d want to work. That particularly applies to immunotherapy, where Penn has been one of the leaders for many years.

Second, Penn has one of the top canine veterinary facilities in the world, and that turns out to be a huge advantage in cancer research. Dogs get certain cancers far more often than humans do, and dog owners are often willing to try new treatments that may not prove as grueling to their pets as standard treatments. Dogs are also more similar to humans than most other animals used for testing new treatments.

Third, Penn has developed a culture of collaboration between departments and also with other third-party research facilities that seems phenomenal. This is the way all cancer research should be handled, but not enough research facilities actually do. Penn does.

In sum, we feel very committed to and impressed both by the way Penn operates and how they plan to use our funding. You can learn more about the research here:




Upcoming Special Events

We host a number of fundraising events each year.

  • October 13, 2019

    Fifth Annual Kicks4Chris 5k

    We hope you can join us for the 5th Annual Kicks4Chris 5k in May, 2019! We are looking forward to another successful event filled with healthy activity, delicious food, great raffles, and even better company!

    Click Here to Register

    Click here to learn More...

  • March 17, 2019

    SoulCycle Charity ride for The Kicks4Chris Foundation

    Come out to support the Kicks4Chris Foundation in our ride to beat cancer! The 45-minute charity ride will be held at SoulCycle Rittenhouse on March 17th at 4:00 PM.

    Get Tickets

Past Events

  • July 19, 2018

    Kicks4Chris Third Annual Paint Nite

    Join us as we raise glasses and funds to help support cancer research! The Kicks4Chris Third Annual Paint Nite event will be held on July 19th at Positano Cost in Old City, Philadelphia at 7:00 pm! Don’t miss the chance to channel your inner creativity and support an incredible cause!

  • October 7, 2017

    Fourth Annual Kicks4Chris 5k

    We hope you can join us for the 4th Annual Kicks4Chris 5k on October 7th, 2018! We are looking forward to another successful event filled with healthy activity, delicious food, great raffles, and even better company!

  • February 18, 2018

    SoulCycle Charity ride for The Kicks4Chris Foundation

    Come out to support the Kicks4Chris Foundation in our ride to beat cancer! The 45-minute charity ride will be held at SoulCycle Rittenhouse on February 18th at 4:00 PM. All proceeds fund primary cancer immunotherapy research being conducted at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of The University of Miami. There are only 56 bikes available, so don't miss your chance to support a great cause with a killer workout!

  • October 22, 2017

    Third Annual Kicks4Chris 5k

    The Kicks4Chris Foundation is excited to announce the Third Annual 5k! The first two annual 5ks were huge successes with support from over 400 people and a total of about $32,000 rasied for cancer research projects! And, with your help we hope to beat that this year! The event will be held on Sunday, October 22nd at Alverthorpe Park. We can't wait to see you there!

  • July 13, 2017

    Kicks4Chris Second Annual Paint Nite

    Join us for a night of great food, drinks, and even better company at the Second Annual Kicks4Chris Paint Nite! The event will be held on July 13th at Positano Cost in Old City, Philadelphia at 7:00 pm! Don’t miss the chance to channel your inner creativity and support an incredible cause! All proceeds benefit cancer research projects.

  • SUN, MAY 21st AT 10:00 AM, AMBLER, PA

    3-on-3 Basketball Tournament

    Don't miss the second annual Kicks4Chris 3-on-3 basketball tournament being held in Mondauk Park, Ambler PA on May 21st. Last year's event was a lot of fun, with 17 participating teams and more than 100 people total! Please join us for a fun-filled day of friendly competition, prizes, music, and great food.

  • Sunday, January 1, 2017

    5:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST

    Second Annual Kicks4Chris Benefit Gala

    Come help us ring in the New Year and support a great cause by joining us for the 2017 Kicks4Chris Benefit Gala Dinner! There will be great food and drink, silent auctions, a photo booth, and prizes.

  • October 1, 2016

    Second Annual Kicks4Chris 5k

    Despite dreary, wet weather, we had a great turnout for the Second Annual Kicks4Chris 5k. We want to thank all the people who showed up to help fight cancer and make it such an enjoyable event.

  • Thursday, June 9 7:00PM

    Paint Nite

    All who came out to the Kicks4Chris paint nite had a blast! it was a low-key night filled with creativity, laughs, and great food and drinks. We hope to see everyone again for our upcoming Paint Nite events!

  • SUN, MAY 15th AT 10:00 AM, AMBLER, PA

    3-on-3 Basketball Tournament

    The first annual Kicks4Chris 3-on-3 basketball tournament was a huge success with 17 participating teams and more than 100 people total! Everyone came together for a fun-filled day of friendly competition, music, and great food. We know this would have been Chris’s favorite event, so we thank everyone who came out to support Kicks4Chris!

  • January 1, 2015

    New Year's Day Benefit

    January 1, 2016, would have been Chris Stern's 28th birthday. In his memory, the Kicks4Chris Foundation held its first gala event, a New Year's Day dinner at Nectar, a wonderful Asian fusion restaurant in Berwyn, PA. Those who attended celebrated the new year with fine food, drink and company, and helped raise more than $7,000 to help fight cancer.

  • November 15, 2015

    Kicks4Chris Annual 5k

    The first annual Kicks4Chris 5K was an inspiring success attended by more than 270 friends of the Foundation, who enjoyed a morning of sunshine, healthy activity, delicious food, and great raffles. Thanks to all who attended, we were able to raise more than $19,000 in support of immunotherapy research!

Videos

Chris's speech in the video is taken from the Survivor speech he gave at the James Madison University 2014 Relay For Life. For those interested, here is a recording of his entire speech.

Our Board

Meet our Board and some of our Volunteers.

Greg Stern

President

Carole Stern

Vice President

Lauren Stern

Treasurer & Secretary

Dan O'Dea

Board of Directors

Megan Killian

Board of Directors

Jane Broderick

Board of Directors

Seldon Walker

Board of Directors

Ron Ettinger

Board of Directors

Rich Busillo

Board of Directors

Jeff Cairone

Board of Directors

Donate to the Kicks4Chris Foundation

Would you like to donate to help our foundation fund research into immunotherapy? Use the below "Donate" button to be taken to our secure Square collection portal, where your donation will be processed. We sincerely appreciate every donation!

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Contact Us

To get involved, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Address:
Kicks4Chris Foundation
PO Box 470
Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 
Phone: (267) 625-4000 | (844) 424-7477 
info@kicks4chris.org