On Tuesday, award-winning country music star Martina McBride and a group of her fans presented a check for $40,550 in support of cancer research at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
Some of the singer’s fans formed a community service group called Team Martina after being inspired by McBride’s recent song, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” which highlights the challenges faced by breast cancer patients. Team Martina now includes hundreds of members from several states and countries who raise funds in support of a variety of causes, including breast cancer research.
Team Martina partnered with the T.J. Martell Foundation to help direct the funds raised through bake sales, yard sales, lemonade stands and other events. The T.J. Martell Foundation supports cancer research at the Frances Williams Preston Research Laboratories at VICC.
McBride said Team Martina has taken the message from her music and “made it real and living.”
VICC director Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., accepted the research donation, saying, “The way we know to love you through it is to move our research from the bench to the patient.”
