Hit the Bricks 2021

Deacs raise more than $200,000 for cancer research

By Wake Forest University

October 5^th, 2021

Setting New Records

The annual Hit the Bricks fundraiser, which raises money for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund, was back in person in the fall of 2021, setting new records for participants (1,693), the number of teams (146) and total money raised ($202,787.85 and counting.) Runners and walkers circled Hearn Plaza for 22,789 laps, or just under 5,700 miles.

Brian Piccolo was an All-American football player who attended Wake Forest in the 1960s and went on to become a running back for the Chicago Bears. Piccolo died of embryonal cell carcinoma at age 26 in 1970. Funds raised from Hit the Bricks support the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Since 1980, Hit the Bricks and other student-led initiatives have raised nearly $4 million for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund.

"It was an amazing day bringing our campus community together. We had record-breaking participation and fundraising, and everyone united in this shared fight against cancer." -- Brad Shugoll, Office of Civic and Community Engagement

The Silent Lap

Participants walked the final lap in silence, remembering those lost to cancer and thinking of those fighting it now. At the closing ceremony, they heard from Mike Ford, former student life director, University Chaplain Rev. Tim Auman and junior Thomas Cutting ('23.)

"I loved running around the quad with my friends and competing against other teams for the most laps, but at the same time I knew that the whole Wake community was there to support cancer research. It was unifying." -- Riley Herriman ('22), student director