Carly Romberg and the Charlotte 49ers continue to Dig for the Cure. |
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Dig For the Cure Reaches Sixth Fundraising Season
Aug. 22, 2008
Visit the Official Dig for the Cure Web Site
Charlotte, N.C. - Former Niners Coach Lisa Marston is continuing a growing volleyball tradition that the current Charlotte 49ers program continues to participate in by dedicating a home match to raising money for breast cancer research. This tradition has caught on with other coaches nationwide as Atlantic 10 schools and dozens of other programs have dedicated a night for the cause.
2008 will mark the sixth year in a row that the Charlotte 49ers volleyball team is raising money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Through the "Dig for the Cure" program, spearheaded by Marston, the 49ers, their conference brethren and more than 100 programs across the country have helped raise more than $339,000 over the last five years (including over $230,000 last season) for the Foundation. This year's 49ers "Dig For the Cure" game will be Oct. 24 vs. Rhode Island
In 2005, with A-10 partners Dayton, Duquesne and Rhode Island also participating, the "Dig For the Cure" program raised over $10,000. In 2004, Coach Marston was successful in landing all fourteen Conference USA volleyball teams in the program, and the result was a combined total of over $22,000. In 2007, 10 of the 14 Atlantic 10 volleyball programs participated, along with seven teams from the West Coast Conference and other colleges and even high schools across the country. In total, more than 100 programs joined the cause in 2007, with more to be added in the upcoming 2008 season.
"My mother is a breast cancer survivor," Marston said. "We started this program to honor breast cancer survivors around the world. Most every person has been affected in some way by breast cancer, and so many people responded that we decided to expand it. I am so proud of the volleyball community for stepping up to raise money for breast cancer research. My lofty goal is that we raise a combined $50,000. My other goal is that this project brings awareness for breast cancer, but also to the college athletes who care about their communities. Athletes are continuously highlighted for bad decisions. It is about time the public sees the good that athletes do so much of."
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Participating schools designated one home volleyball match in October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or November. Individual sponsors pledge money per dig earned by their team in the match, or can make a flat donation to the cause. The money raised by each team goes directly to the Komen Foundation's local affiliate in their community.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, the Foundation is an international organization with local affiliates in 125 cities and communities and events like the Komen Race for the Cure® to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. The Foundation fulfills its mission through support of innovative breast cancer research grants, meritorious awards and educational, scientific and community outreach programs around the world. Together with its Affiliate Network, corporate partners and generous donors, the Komen Foundation has raised more than $1 billion for the fight against breast cancer. The five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early, has risen from 74% in 1982 to 98% in 2008.
For more information, call the National Toll-Free Breast Care Helpline at 1.800 I'M AWARE® (1.800.462.9273) or visit www.komen.org.
Marston has set up a special Web site dedicated to the cause. For more information click here.
