Speaker 1 (00:00):
Would you like to know how the NFL's largest fundraising campaign works? If so, join us on this edition of the Inside Bs Show. Hey, now I'm Nikki G. This is the Inside BS Show. We are here today recording live from the design district in Miami. I'm here with my co-host, Dave Lorenzo, the godfather of Growth. Dave, how are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey, now Nikki GI am fantastic. I am still loving the headsets. Those of you who listened to last week's show, you know that Nicola insisted that we wear these ridiculous NFL Head Coach, airline Pilot Chopper Blackhawk down headsets. So we are wearing headsets, and if you go on YouTube, you can see Nikki G in a headset. She looks amazing. I look like a total clown. Thank you for joining us today. It is a pleasure to have you with us. We are grateful to our sponsor and the host of our show today, global Furniture. If you haven't had a chance, please check out our podcast with Francisco last week from Global Furniture. He did a great job describing what it's like to develop relationships and how you can deepen those relationships. That's the show with Francisco Ramirez last week right here, wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure you listen to that because the environment that we are in is absolutely fantastic. You deserve to be in a great environment just like this as well. So Nikki g, tell us what we're going to talk about today,
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Please. We are talking all about the Dolphins Cancer Challenge today, and who better to do that with than the executive director of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge? Javier Sanchez. Javier, it's such a pleasure to have you join us. Good morning.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
It's my pleasure. Good morning, and thank you for having us.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It's absolutely wonderful to have you here. So Nicola said that you were, and I want to make sure I get this right, the largest charitable organization affiliated with an NFL team. Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Yeah, that's right. The DCC Dolphins Cancer Challenge has become the largest fundraising event in all of the NFL. There was a major commitment made a number of years ago by Steven Ross, our owner, and that was a 75 million commitment to cancer research while the event began in 2010. Overall, our goal was to hit 75 million raised for local cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center by December of 2026. Well, we're happy to say we're closing out December of 2024 and we've already hit that goal. So huge accomplishment.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Congratulations.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Thank you. It is a great testament to the organization, but also the community. Nikki GI know that you play a huge role in this and we love you as a participant, but that's, it's a testament to this community coming together to rally behind the cause that impacts us all. Cancer is something that has touched every single one of us, whether through our personal connection, our emotional connection through a loved one, a coworker, but we know it's important for our communities to stand up against it.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
So let's start back from the beginning because I really want to dig into how you got into this role. So let's start with what was your entry into the DCC? Because right now you're sitting as executive director, but how did you get into that role?
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yeah, and if you don't mind, I'll even take one small step back even before that and how the organization got into it. So back in 2010, Jim, mad Dog bandage, if you're a Dolphins fan, you know, all right, Miami, that's him. That's that energy. He brought that energy and he made that a point for us to turn around and say, we want to rally behind this effort. He had bile duct cancer at the time that first DCC was November 20th, 2010. So we're about to celebrate that 15th anniversary. Him the great Nat Moore and the team at the time rallied behind it. They kicked off the first ever DCC to raise funds for cancer research and that initiative, which ultimately now 15 years later, is the beauty of what it's become today. I joined the organization six and a half years ago, and by the time I got here, we were already raising five, five and a half million dollars for Sylvester.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
So to see that legacy continue from, of course, the great Jim Mad Dog managed part of the 72 undefeated season to see the founding board members still involved in the organization backing this event, a hundred percent committed. It was just outstanding. So when I joined my background as a local South Floridian, born and raised here in Miami, I went to the University of Miami. For me, it was just easy. There you go. We threw up the U Go canes, but for me it was easy. My background was in endurance sports. I had great experiences working with the Miami Marathon, the Lifetime group, and just realizing that the power of bringing the community together for something like this, as we will talk about in a little bit, you're riding a bike, you're running a 5K, this makes us all feel better, but compliment that with the feeling of what you're doing for those impacted by cancer, and that's where the power comes in, and that's why I was all in six and a half years ago, and I am fortunate to sit as the executive director to represent all those that have made this event grow to what it's become.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
From that time, six and a half years ago, we've grown another five and a half million dollars. I've gotten a lot better at riding a bicycle to make a hundred miles a lot less painful,
Speaker 1 (05:24):
And we'll be asking you about that.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
But most importantly, I just continue to remain humble to see that the power and the energy of individuals that are fighting this terrible disease and just coming out with these beautiful stories is what motivates us all.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So I'm the guy who asks all the stupid questions about this because you two are both intimately involved with the event. So explain how people get involved in what you do on that day. Right? And I want to go behind the scenes and have you tell us all about that, but tell us what on that day.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yeah, that day is a culmination of all our efforts year round. My team, the DCC team, we're actually a 5 0 1 C3 within the overall organization. We work on a hard rock stadium. There's six of us along with a full nonprofit board, a part of that board. They're all volunteers. They represent great organizations all the way from the Miami Dolphins to the Formula One, Miami Grand Prix team of South Florida Motor Sports. We have AutoNation, Lennar, lots of South Florida's leading organizations. Kais sit on that board and all year round, I have the luxury of representing such an incredible and impactful organization to make sure that cancer fundraising, cancer awareness and cancer research remains a priority. So while everybody will come together this year for our 15th anniversary on February 22nd, 2025, all year, we're doing everything from hosting gatherings, being on podcasts like this, bringing the community together to rally behind the effort.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
So the operations, the logistics, all the services that we use. The beauty of it is we weigh heavily on everybody that produces the same events at Hard Rock Stadium, from the concerts to the football games, to safety, security, marketing, promotions, events, anything that you see that's branded Miami Dolphins or Formula One, Miami Grand Prix, the Miami Open Tennis Tournament. It's those same individuals that you see producing the DCC. So we have four bike rides, and those four bike rides have gone everywhere throughout Miami-Dade County into Broward County back in the day, they used to go into Palm Beach County, several countless jurisdictions, police officers. We don't close the roads, but we have police escorted rides for the roads. So we work with all different municipalities. We have specialists as part of the team that have worked with events as big as the Miami Marathon, the New York City triathlon. So there's a lot of industry or specific endurance event industry experience, but also put that together with the incredible team that produces all of our great hard rock stadium events.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
So there's one thing that I want to pick up on because a lot of people who hear about the event, think of the day off the day you're describing where you're participating by walking or running a 5K or you're cycling a distance of some sort, or you're a volunteer or just joining in the festivities that go on at Hard Rock Stadium. But you mentioned the team behind this and how they're working all year round. So for all of you, it's not just that day of celebration. I mean, this is such a significant initiative that you have a team that works on it throughout the entire year. So I'd like you to touch on the scope of this. So what's the size, how many people participate in this overall and what does it take to really organize that?
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I love that question and the beauty of the answer is really in the community. So our goal is not to just sell you a ticket to attend to 5K. Our goal is for these organizations that have these teams of hundreds of participants for us to be your favorite event of the year. So we spent a good chunk of the year going to the corporations and doing lunch and learns. We'll do kickoff rallies like we had a University of Miami Citizens board event a month or two ago, and the president turned around and said, this is an initiative that we're all going to rally around together. And that community, that teamwork is something that we feel as an organization and it's become a tradition for us. So we'll have hundreds of teams. Last year we had 377 teams
Speaker 3 (09:32):
That will bring participants. Out of those 377 teams, we had about 6,700 participants. 2300 of them chose to ride a bicycle, a good 3,300 or so chose to do the 5K. And then we also had the virtual participation option. So our method to this event is we're not just hosting an event for you to take part in, but we're hosting an event where your organization can rally around each other, rally around the great health and fitness initiative, rally around those impacted by cancer through the fundraising elements. The most beautiful part of our event is the way that we see organizations open up and you see that coordinator, you see that senior leader, you see the team come about and say, I've never shared this, but this is my connection to cancer. And that's that moment where everything goes out the window and you just realize we're all here trying to do our best. And that's really my favorite part. When you see the organizations feel like we are a better South Florida based organization because of the DC, because of how you bring us together that we know you can walk a 5K or run a 5K just about every weekend of the year, but we want to make sure that you feel and embrace this culture every single day of the year knowing that no matter what, the DCC is going to be there that last Saturday in February for your organization.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
So if people are listening and they're thinking to themselves, man, I have somebody that is important to me that's a cancer survivor, I want to contribute to cancer research, then they don't know somebody who's a team captain like I know Nicola, but if they don't know somebody who's a team captain, how do they contribute?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Yeah, the website's, dolphins cancer challenge.com, we'll get over 45 or so thousand donations for this event. The great bulk of them are geared towards fundraising. We call ourselves a peer-to-peer fundraising event. So in other words, I have my own personal funders page as is Nicola, and then we've got team fundraising pages. So if you went on the website and you saw Team Dolphins and that's so inspired you to just make a generic team donation or you could go onto the website itself and just say, you know what? Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center means something to me. Fundraising for cancer research means something to me.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Why give to the Miami Dolphins? A lot of people ask, we're a football team, and that's the beauty of it. Yes, we are. And this event has a very huge differentiator that we've all been around the block a few times and we've all realized when you get to a nonprofit, you want to know where does that money go. So the Miami Dolphins organization in the leadership has created this event in such a model where a hundred percent of every dollar that's raised supports cancer research. So while the experience, we want it to be second to none for all of our participating organizations, there's all included breakfast, lunch, alcohol for those over 21 activities. It's not just bagels, bananas and cookies like you would get a traditional event. We go above and beyond, and that dollar, when you donate a dollar, none of it funds that. It's all underwritten by sponsors in the organization. So when we speak to our donors, especially those that don't know anybody participating just yet, know that if you're giving a dollar to cancer research or through the DCC, that whole dollar is funding cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, I mean it's critical because it's not just the day of celebration. Yes, it is way over the top is very well done, but you also have officers who are spending their time standing on the streets. They're making sure that we're safe as riders. You have people stationed along the way at rest stops for the riders to make sure they're staying hydrated to make sure they can hop off that bike for a minute, stretch a little bit, make sure they're in okay health, and if something's going on, there's people there to attend to them. So you also have all of that going on. So what we're hearing is that's not being funded by the money that you are providing for this cause that's all being underwritten by the organization. I really wanted to emphasize that because that's a very important point. So that's 75 million commitment that has been raised and funded. Cancer research all came from a hundred percent of the funds that were provided to the organization. If
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I can just jump on that and I want to make sure that I understand completely you and your team, your salaries, that's separate. That's completely separate, which is, it's unbelievably unusual for a charity. If you go and look up, and I'm not going to call charities out by name, but if you go and look up other charities, the administrative costs are 30, sometimes even 40% or more. So you're given a dollar and only 60 cents or 50 cents of that dollar is going to the actual cause. A hundred percent of this is going to cancer research.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Correct. This is important. This is something that not only that we all look into, everybody knows now more than ever, we value every penny of our dollar. And if you're going to give to somebody, you want to make sure it's going to the right place. So again, this is a testament to Steven Ross, our owner, Tom Garfinkel of Vice Chairman and president of the team. This is important to them to turn around and say, we are a pillar of South Florida and it's important that we do right by our community. That's why I just say I sit here as just simply one representative of an organization that has made a statement not just in South Florida, but also just for any and anywhere in the world. This is an important commitment for giving back. So when you give a dollar, not only does the full dollar support cancer research, it stays in South Florida and supports our local cancer center.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
And that's what I wanted you to mention is tell us where that money goes. So tell us about Sylvester and tell us about what else they're doing with it. I know it's cancer research, but the way that they also utilize those funds,
Speaker 3 (15:14):
And we talk about this a lot and for me it hits home because it's our local cancer center, and I use that word local not because I'm trying to diminish its overall quality, but because this is the center that when we have that difficult decision to to turn around and say, wow, we need to get this checked out. We have a diagnosis, we have something that's a fear of cancer, we can just go down the street and realize that we've got an NCI designated cancer center. And that's incredibly important for us. This is something that came about just a few number of years ago and allows us to now have a facility that's ranked nationally. It's one of only 72 I believe, in the country. It's only one in South Florida. So when you want to go see somebody for treatment, you want the best center there is. And South Florida is a booming destination, not just for vacationers but also for people to live here. And we don't want people to have to leave to New York or leave to Massachusetts to go get the best treatment. We want to have it right here. So Western Comprehensive Cancer Center and their team, really the whole entire University of Miami Health system is just so invested. Rudy Fernandez is part of our board. The great director Steven Nyer. Dr. Nyer is an avid cyclist, does a hundred mile ride every
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Year.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Oh my gosh. Hundreds and hundreds of his team participate in the event. Stuart Miller, obviously associated and affiliated with the Miller School of Medicine participates in the event. This is a beautiful coming together of a very powerful and industry leading health system and an even more impressive Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center team that's saying, let's leverage the DCC and the Miami Dolphins Partnership to help save lives in South Florida from the threat of cancer
Speaker 2 (17:10):
On the day itself, you've got a number of different events. Which one are you doing, Nicole? The
Speaker 1 (17:17):
35 mile ride you're doing the 35 mile ride. This is vary from 13 miles up to 99 miles, which heavy air does. But I do 35 mile
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Ride. You do the 35
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Ride and
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Check. He does the 99. Can I do the go to Chick-fil-A and bring everybody Chick-fil-A afterwards and I'll donate. But
Speaker 1 (17:33):
There is a way for everyone to participate. That's what I love about it. You can just show up after. You can show up as a volunteer at the different rides. If you know somebody riding the 35 mile, you can come early and you can see us off as riders from the start. There's a lot of people who come and do that and it actually motivates all of us in the morning and gets us excited about the event.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
We were talking before we went on the air and the question that I had was, alright, so you got some people doing a 99 mile ride, a 35 mile ride, a 5K run slash walk, but everybody comes together at the end. So tell us how that, Javier, how does that work?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Yeah, the coming together part's important for us. The physical feed, the training, that's a huge part to the organization, but to have this company atmosphere, to have this company picnic experience, to have the families come together and realize what do you feel like after you rode those 35 miles? You are working hard. What does one feel like when they turned around and said, I'm going to grab a bicycle and I'm going to ride it for eight hours and I'm going to ride a hundred miles. And then you look at the back of their jersey and they happen to hand write who they're riding it for. Or you see somebody doing the 5K and you realize that they themselves are the cancer survivor. You see families that are doing this because of a loved one that's no longer with them. That's the energy that makes this all possible. So I, I've spent my entire professional career in endurance sports and realize that there is something magical about participating in these events. I spent a number of years getting people to run 26.2 miles and I see that laughter. You think Absolutely no way.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I'll drive it if you want, I'll meet you. It's fine. It'll be at the Pace car. Yeah, but
Speaker 3 (19:24):
I'm going to take you someplace that I'm not sure if you're comfortable going just yet, but I tell you the second you come out and see the event or the second that you turn around and realize when you're working hard and you see someone else's struggle and you realize that there's over 400 people that are cancer survivors participating in this event, that's when you turn around and something different comes out and you realize, wait, this is a ride, not a race. The competition is not with my peers. The competition is internal. I've got individuals, those police officers that you mentioned, my favorite thing about the event is not only that they're out there in the hundreds supporting, but that they're cheering us on. They are. And you're seeing that moment. And I was talking to a close friend that's participated all 14 years and I just asked him, why do you do this? And he goes, because everyone thanked me. All of these hugely prominent folks thank me.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
That's
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Great. Doctors, researchers, cancer survivors. So when you talk about riding a bike for 13 miles, I always like to say it's similar to walking a 5K. It's going to take you about 45, 50 minutes. You might break a sweat, but we don't expect it to be anything where you are crushing a many, let's just say can do it without excessive or intensive training. You can do it on average everyday bicycle when you do get up to the a hundred miles, that is an important one for us that we want you to train. But I got to tell you, seeing it, feeling it, being out there with those that are really pushing themselves, that's when you turn around and that aha moment clicks and just says, alright, I have a greater purpose than what I think I can accomplish today.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Sorry, I know I'm bullying you a
Speaker 1 (21:11):
No, I'm glad you mentioned that. The experience is frankly magical. It's an emotional day and I keep calling it the 35 mile because originally it was, and then they added four more miles. And I'll tell you what, that made a big difference. I love that ride because like you said, there's names on the back of their jerseys or the organization puts a corporate jersey on the riders. So I like to ride up next to people I don't know and ask them, who are you riding for? Who's your team? And all of a sudden they're sharing a story, whether it's a personal experience with cancer, which I've had happen, asking a rider that or it's someone else and they give you the touchpoint. So all of a sudden you're bonding with other people in the community because of this event. Once that day is over, I'm not kidding. It is a very sad day realizing it's a year away. For those of us who have been doing this for several years, it's truly an emotional day. It's an incredible experience that I can't describe any better than that. That you walk away from that thinking there's nothing else like this. And that's what your organization has created.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
That's what when people say What if you don't know anybody that's participating? We do have spectator passes. You could come out, it's very portable. I think it's only like $50 or something. You're going to get all, you can eat food and drink. You're going to be around thousands of south meridians taking part in this event. There's a great musical act that's going to be announced in January to close out the festival, but it's one of those that we invite you all to come out. Donating is fantastic, but living it, seeing it, reading it is one of those that you turn around and realize it. And cancer is not something that we're always fearing. Cancer is not something that's an everyday topic for us, but that's not what we want to bring and draw you to the event as the only thing we want to bring you together to just something that's going to help you find that fulfillment during a time when we're all searching for something, we're all searching for pleasure, for satisfaction, for achievement, for Glory,
Speaker 2 (23:02):
And being a part of a community, you're part of a community and you're giving back. It's great. It's really great.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
This is going to bring you those successes in ways that you wouldn't have expected.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Let's talk about the 5K. You can. Is that around the stadium? Where is that? So tell me about the five. So this is good for, I could do this, I could do 5K, I can bang that out. Absolutely. Yeah, no problem. So I can even bring the dogs. I'll bring my kids for sure. No, you can't bring the dogs. Alright, I'll bring my kids, I'll bring my kids. So tell me about the 5K, where does this start? How does the 5K work? And then you can tell me about how everything ends and where everybody comes together.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
And to your point of bringing the kids, this is my favorite part of it. So my mom has done this event since my first year. She's 75, still walking the 5K with my daughter who's now 11 and this will be seventh time doing it. I registered her actually coincidentally this morning. And the beauty of the 5K is that, and we use the phrase run walk and we use the phrase ride not a race. The reason being anyone and everyone's invited for those that have participated in years past, we got a good new announcement for here, which is we're going to keep the course flat this year. We're not going up and around the helixes as we have.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
So the course is going to start and end on the official formula one Miami Grand Prix star line finish line gantry. So that famous line that has hosted all the F1 cars in May is actually going to kick us off this year for the DCC, for both three of the bike rides and the 5K run walk. It's 3.1 miles and it does start later in the morning so you don't have to worry about getting up too early. I want to say the start time is probably 10 30, 10 45 ish in that timeframe takes the average person the fastest. We'll do it in about 20 ish minutes, maybe a little less if we've got some faster runners. And the slowest will walk with a stroller in about, let's say 75 to 90 minutes.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
All takes place at the stadium. You park at the stadium, you arrive there and there is a beautiful fundraising component to it as well. Lots of very prominent people take part in the 5K. Everyone from our owner to our coach has done it in the past, so very special for us. And then it kicks up to the bike rides. Some people say, I've done 105 Ks, lemme try something different. They do the 13 mile bike ride named after Dan Marino's number. So 13, all the rides are named after Hall of Famer. So Dan Marino's number 13. So he kicks off our 13 mile bike ride. He's done it with us. We shoot up to the 39, which as you mentioned was recently renamed and Reed to line up with Larry Zaka. Number 39. We got the 54 mile bike ride that starts and ends on that same start line, finish line theme that there's Zach Thomas who actually joins us and rides this year. And then of course the 99 mile ride, it used to be a century of 400, you'll still ride a hundred miles because people want to click off that milestone. But Jason Taylor has been so generous as to help kick us off in the promotions being of course a great Miami Dolphins hall of famer who wore number 99.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
That's awesome. That so great. I
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Actually didn't know, I didn't know this piece about the rod. Shame on me. This is so cool. It explains also why you see some of those players. I had the pleasure meeting Zach Thomas when it was right when he was announced to be inducted into Hall of Fame and he was there with his jersey on participating in an event. Nat Moore was there. And I share that because players from the organization are also participating in the charitable function and benefiting the community. It seems so important to them and especially, gosh, riding 99 miles. I think we need to dive into that. So you ride 99 miles, you do not start at 10 o'clock in the morning. Tell us what that ride looks like, Javier.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
So I rode my first one in 2021, which was the year that everything was a little different for Covid and I went ahead and rode the a hundred mile upright at the time and I realized, oh, okay, this is what it takes to train. We're not just serving the Kool-Aid, we want to let everybody know that we drink it and we believe that this as well. So we fundraise our tails off, we train our tails off. We do every single thing we can to let everybody know that we believe in this cost. We're here because of how we've been impacted. So I'll train with everybody that rides a hundred and what I decided to do after that year was ride at the week in advance. So I actually do my a hundred R ride, not the day of the event itself because of my responsibilities at the stadium, but to make sure I check that box and my commitment to my donors. I go ahead and write it before and I want
Speaker 2 (27:25):
To. So are you in traffic? You're looking out for cars and stuff like riding on your own?
Speaker 3 (27:31):
We've done it different ways, but I usually have a group of guys at this
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Something special to us. Yeah,
Speaker 3 (27:37):
We do ride out on the streets and we try to find roads that are less congested with traffic. There's a nice area down south by Everglades National Park where you can get a really nice strip of road without cars. But yeah, this is what you think it is. It's not easy. There are traffic lights and I'll give you sort of a fun fact with tidbit as well. Think about it. If I walked up to you and we were friends and I just said, Hey, I'm going to go ride a hundred miles for cancer research, would you be willing to donate? I'm going to suffer on this bike for seven hours, I'm going to burn four or five, 6,000 calories doing this. Would you make a donation? You have some sentiment for realizing this person's sacrificing.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Sure, of course.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
This person's maybe not fully sane, but I'm putting others above myself. And that physical commitment, that is what drives us to do things that aren't normal. We realize that's not an everyday thing that everybody can accomplish, but it's your motivation, your donations, every single time I get a donation for doing what I'm doing, I'm thinking about them when I'm on that bike for six hours,
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Sure,
Speaker 3 (28:48):
I'm turning around and saying it hurts, but you know what hurts more
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Cancer.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Yeah,
Speaker 2 (28:53):
For sure. For sure. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
And that's what we're thinking about. So to me, you mentioned something that's really important is that feeling of once you're done, you cross the finish line, you're like, man, how do I match this personal high, this personal sense of fulfillment the day or two afterwards? It's true. It's that sentiment of realizing the first time I raised over $10,000 personally for this initiative, I realized I accomplished something I can never do. We'll have several hundred, I think last year was over 430 or something like that. People that raised to the heavy hitter level, which was $3,000. This year it's $4,000. We'll have top 10 fundraisers are raising over a hundred thousand dollars. Wow.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
First, and these are individuals who are raising that amount, not even the teams,
Speaker 3 (29:45):
These are individuals, not teams. So people often ask us, what makes the DC so special and so different? And I'm glad we have enough time on this podcast, but the answer is lengthy. It just the communities leaders come together for themselves, for their organizations. And you see, if you look around the organization, not the organization but the event itself. You turn around and see leading philanthropists, you see leading business owners. You see very prominent, you see community leaders, you see very prominent figures coming together to say no one does it like the DCC does it.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
So we're talking with Javier Sanchez. We're talking about the Dolphins Cancer Challenge. Javier, give us the website once again, please.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
Yeah, it's a Dolphins cancer challenge.com.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Dolphins cancer challenge.com. Javier, this is the Inside Bs show, so you got to give us the inside Bs about behind the scenes, how this happens. I picture you walking into Hard Rock Stadium with your briefcase and here come the coaches. They're getting the team ready and here comes Javier. And you guys are riding the elevator together and they're looking at you. You're looking at them and you say, you guys going to win this week? And they say, yep. And then they look at you and they go, how much are you going to raise this week? Is that how it works? Behind the scenes? Give us the behind the scenes. How does it work? You go into a building where high profile people work every day. What does a day in the life of you and your team, what does it look like?
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Wow. I like your imagination. This is phenomenal. Believe it or not, we were joking about this earlier. I know we're live today at the Miami Design District, but a great part of my week is out in the community. People ask, what is your day-to-day like? I spent half my time talking with the team at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. My ultimate goal is to help our organization and leadership team have a continuously sustainable and supporting and leading initiative that can fund cancer research. And a lot of that effort does come in the building, but I'll tell you about it. We're a community event. So if I'm doing my role effectively, I'm doing this. I'm inspiring, I'm getting to know people, I'm bringing them outside. I realize I'm not giving you the dirt, but there's not dirt. No, it
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Is what it's,
Speaker 3 (32:09):
I have a very community focused and driven role. We were in New York City last week with the V Foundation at the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund gala called Booya, and we were up on stage talking about the impact that we're doing for health disparities in cancer research. In a month or so, we're going to be back in the design district at Kit for an event that's hosted fundraising with Jalen Phillips for the DCC. So for Thanksgiving we're distributing meals with a local nonprofit called Break the Cycle so families can have Thanksgiving meals. Just last week in December, we were distributing toys with our partners at AutoNation at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center for Children impacted. I can go on and on and on. It's what we want people to realize that our role is a community focused role and when I go back into the building and I share an elevator with somebody, my favorite part of what we do is just letting them know that I get to represent them outside of the organization and there's an open invite for them to always come. And they are leaders that genuinely care about and appreciate the fact that while they're making the hard decisions, while they're playing, while they're contracting or playing any role within the organization that it needs for South Florida, that we are very well represented in the community and just creating an impact that we can all jointly be proud of.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Javier, what really was it for you that took this initiative from a vision that Mad Drug Manage had back in 2010 to an initiative for the community that has made 75 million for cancer research? What really contributed mostly to the growth of this? Was it the organization's participation or you being out in the community with your other leaders? What really do you think drove that?
Speaker 3 (34:08):
The flip was switched. I think we've all seen the growth of the organization. The year that I got there was the first year that we owned and operated the Miami Open Tennis Tournament. That was in 2019. The Super Bowl came in 2020. Shortly thereafter, the Formula One Miami Grand Prix was acquired. So I really just have to pay tribute to one is the organization turning around just saying we're going to grow Hard Rock Stadium. And this term of global entertainment destination started to float into our vocabulary of just realizing we're hosting Taylor Swift. We are the biggest. It's our goal to be the biggest and most prominent facility in all of South Florida, if not greater to attract the world. The world's eyes are on South Florida. And I want to say we followed that, we mirrored that, we shadowed that and turned around and said, how can we leverage it to help grow?
Speaker 3 (35:05):
And then I also want to give credit to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. As our gift has grown, their facility has continued to blossom and grow. Dr. Nyer got there, I think he's celebrating 11 or 12 years of having been at the cancer center. And when you see the rise in the difference between where they were then and where they all now, you turn around and see like, wow, that's incredible growth. And everything from the new transformational cancer research building that was just announced being named after Ken Griffin, all of facilities, all of this growth in South Florida. I want to say we just followed suit and said South Florida wants this. They're hungry for it, they need it. And it was all curtailed with a demand for a cancer center that we needed.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
Tell us about what got you here. How did you go from, by the way, I got to ask about the trombone too. I understand you're the first person that I've ever met who plays the trombone. We'll get to that in a minute, Javier. I think you have a great job because you get to help people and you also get to hang out with an NFL team. So that's a pretty great job. What got you here? How did you get to this place? What did you do before? Give us your backstory and tell us how you got here and then we'll get into the trombone.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Well, for what is it for Walt? It all started because of a mouse. Yeah, for me, it all started because of a trombone 2003. A buddy of mine was starting the Miami Marathon and I was a trombonist majoring at the University of Miami in the jazz program. And he said, come join me. I said, why? I know nothing about marathons. And he said, well, you work in the music industry, you're in the entertainment business. There's this concept of running and bands, ideally with a goal of helping people run 26.2 miles by distracting them with live music, drum lines, energy cheerleaders, announcers.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
Oh wow. Wow. That's excellent.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
Yeah. So that was where I was introduced to it. So I had a nice smooth segue from being entertainment driven, being audience focused to realizing the energy of building a community driving event that builds people to be a healthier, healthier version of themself. And I always pay tribute to this. And we started producing events all throughout the us So we were producing about 24, 25 endurance events all throughout the us and I always remember one email and one relationship that was built with a woman in Sarasota. She sends me a thank you email and says Thank you because of you. I finished the Sarasota Half Marathon and have lost over 140 pounds
Speaker 3 (37:53):
And I humbly thought I put out coats, I talked to police officers and tell them what day we want to put a start line and finish line and then we want to people to run. Meanwhile, she made this commitment to do this and we realized, okay, there's a power of something in what we do. And then we were at the time that the organization was acquired by Lifetime and their slogan is the healthy Way of life. And that was just something that I embraced because I turned around and said, this makes me feel good. I'm a father, I'm a husband. I like going home and saying, I help people live a healthy way of life. I believe in it. I do my best to do everything that I can to live by these principles. And then the one day I was sitting in a room judging a panel of Silver Knight finalists for the Miami Herald, and I just so happened to be sitting next to the executive director of the Miami Dolphins Foundation in Dolphins Cancer Challenge. And she got to know me, we hit it off and a couple of weeks later she reached back out and said, let's talk a little bit about what you could do for our organization. And that's how I got here.
Speaker 4 (39:04):
All
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Right. But that was the job that you took over. That was the position that you took over, wasn't it?
Speaker 3 (39:08):
We've evolved a little bit since then. Yeah. I came in as the director of partnerships and fundraising and then she oversaw several different departments. But now the evolution, she remains a great mentor and friend and a big supporter of ours. But I'm in great tribute to all that she did to get us here.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
What's the hardest part of your job, Javier? What's the most difficult?
Speaker 3 (39:29):
The cancer sucks. I made two phone calls last night to people that participate, both ride marshals. One lost his sister just less than a week ago and another lost his
Speaker 4 (39:42):
Brother.
Speaker 3 (39:43):
And these are individuals that have been doing DCC since way before their family members even had cancer. And I'll add something. It's not just the most difficult part, but it's also the best part. We say this, me and my team, I love my teammates, especially Abby. I'm sure she's been involved with us pretty much since I've been here. And there's something that our organization knows that if you're going to bring the DCC team along with you to a meeting, realize that it's going to get emotional.
Speaker 3 (40:17):
And that's something that we drive because we don't brush these. We're not trained like medical professionals. We don't just brush these experiences off our shoulders. I just had an individual beautiful little girl, we did a special jewelry making event at Sylvester about a year and a half ago, and I apologize, but this isn't a feel good story in its full extent, although we tried to do the best we could. A little girl, Sophia, she joined us and later we realized the family was coming to the Dolphins game. So we brought her out for the famous Crucial Catch game when we celebrate our annual gift and we put her in a cheerleading outfit from head to toe. She went out into the 50 yard line and she was out there with a full tier team on the 50 yard line with her pompoms. We got a message less than two weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (41:13):
She unfortunately didn't make it. That was hard for us. And the family reached out, obviously we're all humans here. We reached out and said, how can we help? And she goes, well, her little brother is eight, he wants to go to the game. We didn't think we would be doing this, but we need to do what he wants. So when we heard of that, we took him to the game and we gave him an experience that we just wanted to help bring them some smiles. And that beauty of what we did that day is both devastating, but also realizing for that family, this is the best we can do right now. So they have custom jerseys honoring Sophia, we put her number on the back and he's only eight. So this is impacting him very differently. And this is then us, but it's also impacting mom and dad very differently. So I told you it gets emotional sometimes, but we're all here to help this together and realize that if we can do anything for that family right now, we would. And that's what we did. And the difficult part is it's not just them, it's all of us. We all know somebody that's going through something equally as challenging right now. And like I said, it's both the best and the hardest part of what we do.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Thank you so much for sharing that with us. I know that this job can be challenging. So let me ask about on the other side of that. It sounds like, I mean, you're changing lives. Do you ever think that you would have a role as a professional where your role is changing lives, you're impacting lives every year, what you're doing?
Speaker 3 (42:51):
Yeah, I dunno how to answer that. To be honest with you. I'm very lucky to be here. I think you said it earlier and it always resonates me. Everyone on my team, they're beautiful people, just lovely people that it's hard for any one of us to take credit for this because at the end of the day, we're just lucky to be here.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
Dolphins cancer challenge.com is the website, dolphins cancer challenge.com. Javier, if people are interested, if their companies are interested in participating in being a partner, in sponsoring in some way, how can someone who's listening be a part in a bigger way? I mean, every little bit helps. We'll take everyone's contribution, we'll take everyone's participation, but if somebody hears that story and they have a company and they want their company to be a partner, how can their company get involved?
Speaker 3 (43:48):
Actually, do you mind if I pass this to you because you've done such a great job. So what's your perspective on this?
Speaker 1 (43:55):
Thank you, Javier. So, and part of my experience has been informed by working with you. So for seven years now, I've been part of a team. We formed a team through the University of Miami Citizens Board. So it is an organization that is comprised of over 250 volunteer leaders from the community, all different backgrounds. And we decided we wanted to have our own team. That's how I first met Javier. As I reached out to 'em and said, how can we form a team? What can we do? We want to be able to participate as a group instead of just signing up as individuals. And so what we did was we formed a team and you can have your own team name. You create it, you put it on the website, dolphins cancer challenge.com. You have a team leader and everyone signs up under your team.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Everything that you raise as an individual for the fundraising team counts towards the team goal as well. So you can set a team goal, but you essentially set it up on the website, people sign up under the team name, and then you have a fully formed team that participates in the event. You can then brand yourselves in different ride shirts or walk shirts if you want. That's really where that corporate spirit comes into play that Javier was describing. Where the organization gets behind it, they provide fundraising events and they get their employees involved and they encourage signing up. And I know for us, I mean having a team has made a tremendous impact. So for us as volunteer leaders, part of what we do is we raise funds that help benefit the University of Miami. The funds raised, you have mentioned, went to Sylvester or they go to Sylvester, and that is part of the U Health system. It helps us fulfill our mission as citizen board members to impact the community. For those of you out there who are looking for ways to impact the community and also benefit your organization, a way to form a team is a great way to do that. So logistically, you just go and you can sign up the teams and you can reach out to people like Javier if you have any questions as to exactly how to do that.
Speaker 3 (45:36):
And I'm going to interview her for a second now. So I love this. Let me ask you a question. I love your podcast. I'm a huge fan. I listen all the time and I don't think I can form a team, but I do have a family or just myself. Can I join your team?
Speaker 1 (45:52):
Absolutely. So our team is not just comprised of Citizens Board members. I should have been clear about that. We open up to family friends, I'm recruiting everyone to join my team, and that's part of what we're here doing today is we want to keep building that team. The reason is because we've seen some of these fundraisers and we said, let's set an aggressive goal. Our goal this year is a hundred thousand dollars in honors.
Speaker 3 (46:13):
Whoa, no, no, no, no, I can't do that. Do I have to do that alone?
Speaker 1 (46:16):
No, you do not have to do that alone. Every dollar raised helps us towards that goal and everyone is a member of the team is helping us achieve that goal.
Speaker 3 (46:23):
And how much do I have to fundraise?
Speaker 1 (46:24):
You have to fundraise. There is a minimum fundraising amount for each event that you sign up for. I want to say the lowest one is about $250 if I have that correct. And that's it. So that's the minimum fundraising amount have to raise to participate. And frankly, it's really easy and we teach you how to do it. There's a lot of tools that show you how to post it. We actually give you different social media packages to make it really easy for those who participate in the event. So that's it. You push it out through Facebook, LinkedIn, whatever channel you're on, family and friends. And I'll tell you what, that $250, you're getting that done in a matter of days.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
So there are 60 of you who are listening right now who are part of our Provisor group, provisor Miami three. We will be working with Nicola and her team to raise money. Nicola is going to share information about this with us to raise money for the Dolphins Cancer Challenge as part of Nicola's team. So if you're listening and you're part of provisor, you will be part of this along with us and you can ride with, you can walk or run with me. We will be there participating that day. We're sharing all of this directly with you, and we encourage you to share this show with your friends, with your family and invite them to participate and they can join Nico's team and participate right along with us dolphins cancer challenge.com, dolphins cancer challenge.com. That's the website. If you have questions, Nicola is available 24 7 365 to answer your questions about this.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
If you don't have her phone number, I'll give you her email address to reach out to her. It's Nico nicola gel armino@myeslnetwork.com. Nico nicola gel armino@myeslnetwork.com. She can probably answer all of the questions, but if she can't, she can reach out to Javier to have him answer any questions. If you have a big group or organization and you want to partner with the Dolphins Cancer Challenge, you want to find out what it's like to work behind the scenes at Hard Rock Stadium, we can put you in touch with Javier. We will make that happen for you. The bottom line is this, a hundred percent. 100% of the money raised by this team for this cause goes to cancer research. It's hard to find another organization that donates a hundred percent of the proceeds to cancer research. So dolphins cancer challenge.com, go to the website, reach out to Nicola Nicola gel armino@myeslnetwork.com. If you don't know how to spell gel right in the show notes there for you, you can email her. She will get right back to you. This is a cause that is important for everyone. Before we go, Javier, what didn't we ask you about this that we should have?
Speaker 3 (49:21):
Well, it was funny. You both triggered a thought, which was oftentimes working for an organization like this. People want to know how do I get your attention? How do I get you to respond to an email or a solicitation? And I could probably ask you this question, but the answer's going to be the same. Everyone that donates to my page and donates to my crazy a hundred Mile bike Ride for cancer research has my undivided attention and I am ultimately grateful for their support in such a way that I have to thank you. So I always throw that in there when people say, if you do want to make a donation, it's all appreciated. And that's a simple way to get somebody's attention. So feel free to ask somebody that you do favors for and say, can you participate? When you talked about fundraising being easy, I love that you said it, but that's a big part of it. So just realize that we can all together do good. And then I did want to close by simply saying thank you guys. First off, you're phenomenal hosts. I think this is a lot easier and more fun than maybe any of the other podcasts I've been on, but you guys are doing a great job and great work with what you do. Keeping it fun, keeping it smooth. The audience is lucky to have you guys sharing some wealth like this.
Speaker 1 (50:38):
Well thank you. You're very kind. Thank you so much and what a pleasure to have you have you here. This is a cause it's near and dear to my heart and to have you here is really special and we appreciate your time. I know you have a lot of places to be working on this initiative. We've only got a few months left to hit our goals, so we appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (50:56):
Alright, Javier, give us the date one more time and the website one more time.
Speaker 3 (50:59):
Yeah, so www.dolphinscancerchallenge.com and the 15th anniversary of event is on Saturday, February 22nd, 2025.
Speaker 2 (51:09):
You heard it here folks. And by the way, you can donate year round. This podcast is going to live on the website forever. So if you're listening to this and it's two years from now, dolphins cancer challenge.com. If you can't find a way to donate there, go to Ola and Ola will find a way to make sure that your money gets where it needs to be. We really appreciate those of you who are part of our community, those of you who are part of the business community here in South Florida. Those of you who are with us and you're in Chicago or you are in New York, we appreciate your support and we would love it if you would go to dolphins cancer challenge.com and join Nicola's team. Come down, you can hang out with us. Nicole's got a brand new place where she's living. She's got an extra bedroom.
Speaker 2 (51:54):
You can stay with her. Anyone who donates a thousand dollars or more, we'll be able to stay in Nicola's house during the Dolphins Cancer Challenge about Thank you Javier Sanchez for joining us. Thank you, Nicola, for welcoming all these people from out of town to stay at your brand new home during the Dolphins Cancer Challenge. My name is Dave Lorenzo. This is the Inside BS Show. I am thrilled and honored that you are with us today, and it is our great pleasure to support the Dolphins Cancer Challenge. We'll be back here with another episode next week. Be sure and join us. Until then, I'm the godfather of growth and she is
Speaker 1 (52:29):
Apparently a house host. But more importantly, Nikki G.
Speaker 2 (52:32):
Thanks for joining us, folks support the Dolphins Cancer Challenge and we'll see you next week.