Loretto, PA -- It was that time of the year again; where students, faculty and the Saint Francis community came together to “Kickoff for the Cure.”
Nearly 600 people showed up Saturday, April 14th, to walk, show support and, ultimately, raise money for a great cause. This 24-hour event held between 10 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday was filled with food, fun and a whole lot of walking.
At this year's event, $38,000 was raised for the American Cancer Society. In The DiSepio Institute's 5k alone over, $1,500 was raised. “Kickoff for the Cure 5k” had an amazing turnout with over 160 participants. The money raised for the 5k will be donated to the American Cancer Society as part of Saint Francis's Relay for Life donation.
Among the nearly 600 participants, there were 31 different teams from the Saint Francis community including student organizations, clubs, Greek life, athletic teams, faculty, and the local community.
From Saint Francis athletics, Women's soccer, field hockey, bowling, and swimming each did their part to raise money for the cause.
Women's soccer, with help from the field hockey team, raised over $1,300 for the American Cancer Society. Each player set an individual goal of raising $100. The donations are still being processed and the team expects to increase its donation total.
“We're just happy to be part of this again,” head coach Brenda van Stralen said. “It's always a wonderful event, a great cause and something our team looks forward to participating in every year.”
The Saint Francis bowling team added in their assistances. The team contributed over $1,000 to Relay For Life thanks to a successful inaugural Red Flash Bowl-A-Thon. Players, staff, families and friends gathered back in March at Holiday Bowl for the first-year event. A majority of the proceeds benefited the American Cancer Society of Blair County who then applied this money directly towards the Relay For Life campaign. A minority portion of the money raised helps support the Red Flash bowling team.
"What a great day and fantastic response for this event,” head coach Tom Falbo said. “This event was rolled out on short notice so a big thanks to all who worked hard to make this a success. We're pleased to provide the SFU Relay for Life team with this support."
Swimming's donations totaled over $2,000. Most of swimming's donations came from online soliciting and donations through the Relay For Life website. In addition, the team collected donations at Red Flash swim lessons. Freshman Rebecca Peer (Chelsea, Canada/Philemon Wright) contributed to the cause by donating more than 10 inches of her hair to the American Cancer Society.