Since 2007, Kiewit has proudly sponsored its annual Jakefest fundraiser benefiting CureSearch for Children's Cancer.
Jakefest was established by Harry and Robin Koenigs to honor and remember their son, Jake. At just five years old, Jake was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children. He passed away in 2006 just one month before his 9th birthday.
The Koenigs family knew that more research was needed to ensure that other children with rhabdomyosarcoma and other cancers receive the best care possible. They also wanted to raise awareness for childhood cancer. In 2007 Harry’s employer, Kiewit, turned the company’s annual employee golf outing into what is now the annual Jakefest event.
"When we realized that Jake wasn't going to survive, we wanted to find a way to give back to an organization that was working towards finding a cure. We knew that CureSearch was that organization.”
- Harry Koenigs, Jake's dad
Jakefest Events
The Impact of Jakefest
Currently Funding
Dr. Mohamed Abdelbaki, at Washington University School of Medicine, is conducting a phase I clinical trial using a Natural Killer (NK) cell therapy for children and young adults with recurrent brain tumors. NK cells are immune cells that can recognize and kill cancerous cells and have shown promise in treating several cancers. This trial will be conducted through the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC), making it the first multi-institutional consortium-wide study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intra-tumoral NK cell infusions in children with recurrent brain tumors.
Dr. David Munn, at Augusta University, is conducting an open-label Phase 1b study to test if adding ibrutinib, a cancer-fighting drug, can restore systemic immune activation and functional anti-tumor activity in patients 12 to 25 years old with brain tumors who are highly resistant, actively progressing, and have already become resistant to chemoimmunotherapy with indoximod, another cancer-treating medication, alone.