Fireflies West Bike From San Francisco to Los Angeles Supporting the City of Hope September 23-28

Advertising and Special Effects Professionals Cycle to Benefit Leukemia Research in 4th Annual Ride

News provided by

Sep 21, 2011, 04:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fireflies West, a group of production, post production and advertising agency professionals from throughout the country, will gather for the fourth year in a row to pedal their bicycles from San Francisco to Los Angeles to benefit Cancer Research. Rolling out on September 23rd after the annual AICP show (Association of Independent Commercial Producers) in San Francisco, this year's ride includes executives, producers and artists from over twenty-four different creative firms joining forces in a united front to raise funds to fight cancer. This marks the second year the Fireflies West are riding to support the City of Hope Hospital in Southern California and they're aiming to surpass the $50,000 donation raised through last year's ride.

Participating in the ride is Erik Press, Executive Producer at Zoic Studios, an Emmy Award-winning visual effects company based out of Culver City, CA.

"The Fireflies West represents the power of community and giving back. It's amazing to see my colleagues and competitors alike, work together toward something greater than themselves," said Press. "There's a shared value here to do good and I see it reinvigorating parts of our industry. We are able to have incredible impact for people struggling with Cancer and in this way, the community continues to grow. This is powerful."

The Fireflies West will depart from Goodby Silverstein and Partners in San Francisco on Friday, Sept. 23, in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 28, rain or shine! Throughout the ride, cyclists will cover 550 miles along the dramatic California coastline.

Fireflies West is a companion event to the original Fireflies ride of Europe, which began in 2001 and each year includes a group of adverting professionals that cycle from Geneva to Cannes over the French Alps. Generously supported by Ridley Scott Associates and visual effects company The Mill, the ride has raised over $2 million dollars to benefit the Hammersmith Hospital in London for Leukemia research. Executive Producer, Erik Press and Loni Peristere, Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director at Zoic, both cycled in the European ride this year.

For additional information or to make a donation, please visit www.fireflieswest.com

About City of Hope

City of Hope is a leading research, treatment and education center for cancer, dedicated to the prevention, treatment and cure of cancer and other life threatening illnesses guided by a compassionate patient-centered philosophy. Designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest honor bestowed by the National Cancer Institute, City of Hope's research and treatment protocols impact care throughout the nation.

About Zoic Studios

Zoic Studios is a multiple Emmy and V.E.S. award winning visual effects (VFX) company headquartered in Culver City, CA that specializes in visual effects for feature films, episodic television, commercials, video games, advertising design and interactive online media. Founded by five partners in 2002, the company has expanded to a full-scale global VFX powerhouse with studios in both Los Angeles and Vancouver, BC that is redefining the industry, efficiently delivering over 500 visual effects shots per week on time and within budget. Zoic has created effects for popular television shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI, Fringe, V, True Blood and its Emmy-winning work on Firefly. Film credits include District 9, Zombieland, Get Smart, Spiderman 2, The Day After Tomorrow and many others. Zoic has also delivered ground-breaking visual effects in commercial spots for high profile brands including Playstation, Craftsman, Gatorade, Jeep, Nissan, ESPN and Walmart.