Marist Athletic Director Tim Murray & Miles of Hope Co-Founder and game guest coach Dana Effron
With Guest Coach and Miles of Hope Co-Founder Dana Effron on the bench, the Marist Women’s Basketball Team’s Pink Zone Game on February 12 in honor of breast cancer survivors, raised $1800 for the local Foundation.
“When I was asked to guest coach, I was so honored that I went out and bought a pair of hot pink Converse® high top basketball shoes,” explained Mrs. Effron. “This is the second time we have worked with Marist on this charity game directed at our cause and we are indebted to them for their generosity and community spirit.”
Cathy Varunok, Miles of Hope Co-Founder, organized the information area at the game and welcomed many of the survivors. “We came here to honor survivors and to highlight the Foundation’s mission to people who may not know what we do,” Mrs. Varunok explained. “Our Hoops for Hope Women’s Basketball Tournament is March 14, right here at this gym and we had information available in case anyone wanted to sign up. Anyone can go to our website and sign up a team to play.”
Marist Red Fox, Rachel Fitz, a Fashion Major at the college, designed the t-shirt for the night’s special event. T-shirts were given out free to the first 1000 attendees and the shirts were gone long before the start time of 7:30 PM.
“When I got here at 5:00, people were milling around the door, and by 6:00, there was a line to get in,” stated Pari Forood, Miles of Hope’s Executive Director. “By game time there were over 3,000 people and most of them were wearing pink. It was quite a sight and heartwarming for us to see this type of support and solidarity in our community.”
Through donations and a silent auction and raffle organized by Marist, the Foundation raised over $1800 for support services for people affected by breast cancer in the Hudson Valley.
“Our mission is to help the people in the 8 counties of the Hudson Valley. Marist helped us to accomplish this and they are a true partner and friend,” Ms. Forood said.
Enjoy photos of the game and half-time ceremony honoring breast cancer survivors in the Miles of Hope Photo Gallery.
Tags: fundraiser
