Nearly 25 years ago, legendary college basketball coach and broadcaster Jim "Jimmy V" Valvano delivered his stirring and emotional speech at the first-ever ESPY Awards in 1993. Despite being weakened from cancer, which took his life less than two months later, Valvano arrived to receive the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award, and his energetic, passionate speech inspired the sports and medical communities to come together to fight cancer.

"I'm going to work as hard as I can for cancer research and hopefully, maybe, we’ll have some cures and some breakthroughs," he told the audience. "I said it before, and I’m gonna say it again. Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever."

As Valvano’s V Foundation for Cancer Research celebrates its 25th anniversary its leadership is looking to the future. More than $200 million in research has been awarded in research grants, and more than $1 billion in additional funding has been leveraged to create measurable results in the lives of those affected by all types of cancer. One hundred percent of the V Foundation’s donations are put directly towards research programs at leading cancer centers and research facilities nationwide.

Read the full article about the work of the Jimmy V Foundation over 25 years by Kristin Marguerite Doidge at GOOD Sports.