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Get involved

Everyone starts by showing up.

SSBTR is run by students. There is one path in, and it is open to anyone in an Arizona school. Donors and sponsors carry the rest.

For students

One path, two roles

The sequence below is how every Ambassador and Co-Chair in the organization got there.

  1. 1

    Start

    Attend meetings

    Everyone starts the same way: show up. Meetings run during the school year and include lab tours, lectures from researchers, and the planning that makes the Cure-a-Thon happen. No application, no experience needed.

  2. 2

    Then

    Apply to become an Ambassador

    If you have been attending regularly and want more responsibility, apply to be an Ambassador. Ambassadors spread the word at their school, recruit walkers, and run fundraising on the ground.

  3. 3

    After a year

    Apply as a Co-Chair

    Becoming a Co-Chair requires being an Ambassador and at least a year of involvement first. After that year, Ambassadors may apply to help lead the organization: working with sponsors, talking to the media, and running their school's chapter.

Apply for a roleSee meeting schedule

Applications are private.

What you get

More than fundraising

  • Lab tours and live science

    Members tour the labs at Mayo Clinic, Barrow Neurological Institute, and TGen, and have observed live brain surgery. Researchers your dollars fund speak at meetings through the year.

  • Real responsibility

    Ambassadors and Co-Chairs recruit walkers, work with sponsors, talk to media, and run the largest student-run fundraising event of its kind.

  • The award ceremony

    Every April, students hand the checks to the research institutions themselves. You see exactly where the money you raised goes, in person.

For donors

Where your dollar goes

93%

of every dollar goes directly to brain tumor research. The organization is run by student volunteers, so overhead stays low.

5

beneficiary institutions: Barrow, Phoenix Children's, TGen, the National Brain Tumor Society, and University of Arizona medical research.

501(c)(3)

Donations are tax-deductible. EIN 20-0345903. Gifts can be made in honor or in memory of someone.

DonateSee the impact

For schools

Start a chapter

50+ Arizona schools already take part, from high schools to the University of Arizona College of Medicine and Creighton University School of Medicine. If your school is not on the list, one motivated student and one staff sponsor is enough to change that.

Write to admin@ssbtr.org and we will help you get set up before the school year starts.

See participating schools

For sponsors

Back the walkers

Sponsorships run from $12,500+ to $250 to $499 and put your name in front of thousands of students and families at the Cure-a-Thon.

  • Presenting$12,500+
  • Diamond$10,000 to $12,499
  • Platinum$5,000 to $9,999
All sponsorship levels

Next up

Cure-a-Thon 2027 · Saturday, February 27, 2027

Event details