Thunder, RACE Charities Raise $14K for Cancer Night

Wichita, KS (March 27th) - The Wichita Thunder, proud member of the ECHL and powered by Toyota, joined forces with RACE Charities last weekend to help fight colon cancer and are excited to announce that the foundation reached their goal and then some, raising more than $14,000.

“We as an organization are extremely honored to be a part of the Thunder's charitable promotions program and want to thank all of the fans, jersey auction buyers, supporters, and volunteers who came out to support our worthy cause,” commented Jeromy Gensch, President of RACE Charities Foundation. “ Many thanks in part to Thunder players RG Flath and Tim Boron for donating their hair as a part of the ‘shaved head' promotion! 100% of all proceeds are directed in full to our Cancer Research Laboratory partner in Seattle, WA (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) to help save lives through the non-profit Center's cancer research initiatives dedicated to solving science's greatest challenges and developing early detection of colon cancer methods.”

Special jerseys were worn and auctioned off immediately following the game. March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, which is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the US, with over 50,000 Americans dying from it every year. An alarming number of young people in the US are diagnosed with cancer, and last year alone over 13,000 people under the age of 50 were diagnosed, with a large percentage of those ending up in death because it was discovered at a late stage. The disease has around a 95% cure rate, if discovered early enough. Visit www.racecharities.org to learn more about RACE Charities and colon cancer awareness.

Wichita begins its final road trip of the season with a meeting in Quad City tonight at 7:05 p.m.

Individual tickets are on sale now. Don't delay! Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com. Stay up-to-date on all the news during the season by visiting www.wichitathunder.com.

About the ECHL

The ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 28 teams in 20 states and one Canadian province for its 27th season in 2014-15. There have been 541 players who have started their career in the ECHL have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 29 who made their NHL debuts in the 2013-14 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 26 of the 30 NHL teams in 2013-14, marking the 17th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

-Thunder-