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Why Buildings Around Cincinnati Will Be Lit Up Orange This Sunday

Michael Keating
/
WVXU

It has nothing to do with FC Cincinnati being granted a Major League Soccer franchise

Instead, structures like the Great American tower, the "Cincinnati" sign and JACK Casino will have an orange hue in support of National Cancer Survivors Day this Sunday, June 3. 

Orange is the official color of Ride Cincinnati, a cycling event held every June since 2007 at Yeatmann's Cove. This year's ride takes place June 9-10, with the aim of raising upwards of $500,000 for cancer research at Barrett Cancer Center at the UC Cancer Institute. But that's not the end-goal: Ride Cincinnati is just one spoke in the wheel trying to help the center earn the honor of being designated as the Queen City's first cancer center recognized by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

"Cincinnati is one of only a handful of mid-size cities that don't have that designation," says Allison Schroeder, a spokeswoman for Ride Cincinnati. "Once a city receives this they get greater funding, attract greater talent, and, more important, our loved ones living with cancer don't have to leave the city to receive top-notch cancer care."

In addition to fundraising dollars, NCI also looks at things like community support, and that's where Ride Cincinnati comes in. 

This is the 12th year of the ride, and the first year it's expanded to two days. On the evening of June 9, Ride Cincinnati will hold an opening ceremony, featuring live music, drinks and food. The ride itself happens June 10 at 6 a.m. Participants can choose to ride anywhere from 8 to 100 miles, and afterward, take part in an after-party that Schroeder says "hands down, has the best food I've ever seen." 

Interested riders can register all the way up until the event kick off, as they have until August to fundraise.

"This started as a single family's tribute to a mother they had lost to breast cancer and has grown into this major fundraiser," Schroeder says. "To date, they've raised $2.8 million for cancer research and funded 34 research grants at the University of Cincinnati." That's another great thing about the ride, she says: the money from the ride stays local. 

To learn more, visit ridecincinnati.org.

Jennifer Merritt brings 20 years of "tra-digital" journalism experience to WVXU.