Dell is donating more than $10 million in its current fiscal year to support children's cancer research, and address the needs of children and families worldwide undergoing treatment. Through these global Powering the Possible grants, Dell is working with 10 nonprofit organizations, building on its multi-year commitment of technology, funds and team-member volunteerism to support innovative pediatric cancer programs.

Dell announced a partnership with the Translational Genomic Research Institute (TGen) and the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium (NMTRC) in 2011 to support the world's first FDA-approved personalized medicine clinical trial for pediatric cancer. In that trial, a Dell high-performance computing system reduced the time needed to analyze pediatric cancer tumor cells from a week to less than a day. Dell's donation this year includes cloud-computing technology that will enable doctors to collaborate virtually, identify personalized treatment and begin administering it within days -- a process that before took months. And with these improvements, physicians are expanding the number of children participating in the ground-breaking trial.

Dell is working with eight other nonprofits around the world to address patients' physical, mental and emotional needs as they undergo treatment. These projects include:

  • L'Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR), in Paris. With Dell's support, the hospital has launched a project, "CREA FORM," in its pediatrics department to keep children connected to their peers and their studies during cancer treatment. The initiative includes an online database of educational content, a series of creative arts workshops, webcams that allow children hospitalized in sterile rooms to stay in contact with other children in the hospital, and a video project created by the children themselves to introduce new patients to the hospital.
  • Second Affiliated Hospital of Huaxi (SCLF), in Chengdu, China. Though the most common forms of childhood leukemia in China have very high cure rates, roughly 30 percent of children suffering from this disease gave up their treatment at SCLF in 2010 due to lack of financial resources. With Dell's grant, SCLF will provide free treatment to children who have successfully completed their first year of therapy, but who are likely to suspend it for monetary reasons.
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), which works with Dell in 14 cities across the United States. Because many families must travel for their children's cancer treatment, RMHC provides a "home away from home" at little to no cost for families undergoing medical crisis. As part of their work together, Dell team members will also volunteer at RMHC chapters, providing much-needed help in addition to the financial support.

In observation of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in the United States, Dell this month also collaborated with Causes.com to raise awareness of the deadly disease neuroblastoma -- the most common cancer in infants, accounting for roughly 15 percent of all childhood-cancer deaths. This fall, people visiting Dell's campaign at www.causes.com/dell can watch a video to learn how technology is accelerating pediatric cancer treatment. Dell will donate $1 for every viewer, up to $30,000, to the NMTRC, a U.S. network of cancer trials conducted by researchers and oncologists pioneering new therapies for children.

Quotes

"Every day in a child's life is precious -- that's why technology that can accelerate cancer treatment is so important. We're honored to bring our technology, team member support and funding to help the fight against childhood cancer. In partnership with families, nonprofits and the medical community, we know Dell can make a difference."
Trisa Thompson, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility, Dell

"It is critical for people to understand childhood cancers, because doctors are finding more breakthroughs, and children are surviving. There was a time if your child was diagnosed with cancer, they'd say, 'I'm sorry, there is nothing that we can do, so go home and enjoy your time.' That is not the case now. Thanks to technology, doctors can look at Brooke's DNA sequencing and study her genomics and within 10 days say, 'Here are her top five drugs that we believe will turn her cancer off.'"
Jessica Hester, mother of Brooke Hester, 5-year-old neuroblastoma patient in NMTRC's trial

ABOUT DELL

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. Powering the Possible is Dell's commitment to put technology and expertise to work where it can do the most good for people and the planet. Dell works with nonprofits to address pressing social issues by donating a combination of Dell technologies and solutions, funding, expertise and volunteer support. In 2011, Dell gave more than $44 million, and Dell team members volunteered more than 418,000 hours in their communities. Learn more at www.dell.com/communities.

Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.

Dell
Jenny Robertson, 512-728-3575
jenny_robertson@dell.com
or
WPP Team Dell
Katelyn Davis, 415-268-1609
katelyn.davis@wppteamdell.com