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Business & Labor Unite for the Knight


Business & Labor Unite for the Knight

Earlier this week, seven Oregon business and labor groups representing hundreds of companies and unions came together to launch Unite for the Knight.

The goal? To support the Knight Cancer Challenge to help end cancer as we know it.

Unite for the Knight kickoff

The kickoff was hosted at the Collaborative Life Sciences Building, a stunning location with a name befitting of Unite for the Knight’s goals. The coalition is co-chaired by John Mohlis with the Oregon State Building Trades and our own Brian Gard, a past chair of Oregon Business Association.

You’ve probably heard of the Knight Cancer Challenge. To help OHSU raise the $500 million needed to receive the match from Phil and Penny Knight, the Unite for the Knight coalition is engaging labor and business across the state to donate. Unite for the Knight includes the Oregon AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Associated Oregon Industries, Oregon Business Association, Oregon Business Council, Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council and Portland Business Alliance. The goal is 100 percent participation of members represented by the coalition, helping OHSU transform how doctors detect and treat cancer.

Gard Communications pitched in pro bono, designing and producing the website – unitefortheknight.org – and organizing and promoting the kick-off event. We look forward to continuing our work with Unite for the Knight and doing what we can to help the coalition.

Because, as Dr. Joe Robertson, president of OHSU, said at the launch, “In the fight against cancer, we’re all on the same side.”