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The 2025 Be A Part of the Cure Walk attracted its highest attendance and philanthropic support ever. Image by Bryan Clifton

1,700 Rally for Cancer, Raise $470,000 at Fifth Be A Part of the Cure Walk

May 22, 2025 | The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) held its fifth Be A Part of the Cure Walk on Saturday, May 3, in Little Rock. With a total of 1,700 walkers registered from 71 cities and 10 states, the huge crowd circled the War Memorial Stadium’s outdoor course in near perfect weather for the annual event that honors all Arkansas cancer patients.

Of the 70 teams registered for the walk, the Cancer Institute’s Clinical Trials Team was the largest with 82 members, all participating in memory of Cindy Jones, a UAMS clinical research nurse manager who lost her battle with cancer in November 2024. The team included 18 members of Cindy’s family.

“Cindy was kind to the patients she worked with and to her colleagues at the Cancer Institute,” said Matt Kovak, director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Office. “She battled cancer multiple times and devoted the last five years of her life to caring for patients here on clinical trials. She is in our hearts today.”

Donations to the Be A Part of the Cure Walk topped $470,000 this year, bringing the total amount raised from the five walks to more than $2 million. The walk is one of the Cancer Institute’s largest fundraising events of the year, second only to Gala for Life, a black-tie event that raises more than $1 million each year. Founding sponsor Hickingbotham Investments has supported the walk since its beginning.

“Community events like this have never been more important,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and UAMS vice chancellor.  “Since our first walk five years ago, we have doubled the number of clinical trials we offer, and patient enrollment has skyrocketed. Our cancer research programs are stronger than ever with 29 new researchers who have joined us since May 2020 from all over the U.S. So, it’s a critical time for us to have successful events like the walk, and this year was perfect.”

Proceeds from the event support the basic, translational and clinical research underway by the institute’s throng of researchers, including novel clinical trials.

“Research is the way we find new treatments and cures, and that’s why this event and the work being done in our laboratories at the Cancer Institute are so important,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA.

“The turnout for the walk this year was the best we’ve ever seen,” said Liz Birrer, co-chair of the event and wife of Michael Birrer. “We had spectacular weather, a great crowd, and we raised money to support important cancer research that gives patients hope.”

Liz Birrer co-chaired the walk with Rebecca Tackett, wife of Cancer Institute Deputy Director Alan Tackett, Ph.D. The two devoted volunteers share a deep personal connection to cancer. Birrer’s sister, Rose, is battling cancer for the fourth time and attended the walk this year. Tackett’s father-in-law, Don, is a prostate cancer survivor who was treated at UAMS.

“Liz Birrer has chaired this walk for all five years and put her heart and soul into making it a success,” Patterson said. “I also want to recognize Rebecca Tackett, walk co-chair, for all of her hard work.” The event also had the support of 150 volunteers.

Emcee Lesley Murphy, a travel journalist and The Bachelor show alum, welcomed walkers to the event along with Patterson, Birrer and Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott.

A Fort Smith native, Murphy became a cancer prevention advocate after discovering she carried the BRCA 2 gene mutation that put her at high risk for developing breast cancer. She underwent a preventive double mastectomy at UAMS. The entire Murphy family, including her mother and breast cancer survivor, attended the walk.

After welcoming speeches, more than 150 cancer survivors wearing custom pink T-shirts gathered on the field for an official photo.

This year’s event also included a special tribute to Kent Westbrook, M.D., the beloved UAMS surgical oncologist who co-founded the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (now the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute) alongside James Suen, M.D.

“We wouldn’t be here without Kent,” said Michael Birrer. “He essentially steered the Cancer Institute through its early development as its founding director.

“On behalf of all cancer patients across Arkansas, we honor and thank you,” Birrer said.

A video about Westbrook played on the stadium jumbotron during the event.

The walk also featured 60 vendors and information booths set up across the stadium, including several from the Cancer Institute and UAMS highlighting cancer clinical trials, translational research, genetic counseling and cancer screenings, to name a few. The UAMS mobile mammography van was also on hand.

Photos of the event can be viewed here

The 2026 Be A Part of the Cure Walk will be held May 2, 2026.