By Ian Lockwood
Staff Writer
Every year more and more people are being affected by Brain Cancer, and it’s deadly outcome. Costa sophomore, Lily Raffety, started the Grey Ribbon Club in an effort to raise money and contribute in the fight against brain cancer.
On November 8th, the club will be participating and volunteering in the “Race For Research Run” at Dockweiler State Beach. The event is run by Heroes of Hope: Grey Ribbon Crusade, which is a nationwide organization who is trying to help raise funds for research for different types of cancer. The money raised will go to tumor research at UCLA’s neurosurgery department, USC’s medical school and the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital’s neural tumor team.
“We will be arriving early at the race and helping set up different booths and the starting line area before the runners arrive,” Raffety said. “We also will have our own team that will raise money and then participate in the run.”
According to Raffety, following the passing of her grandpa to brain cancer, she was inspired to raise awareness for the cause. The club will help raise money and make donations for research and treatment.
“I really wanted to help the fight, after my grandpa passed away. The event was traumatic for my family and I want to prevent having other people go through what I did,” Raffety said. “We will start by having fundraisers and helping out at charity events.”
The event is all day and will have a 5k/10k run and a Kid’s Fun Run. There will be guest appearances from professional athletes, brain tumor survivors, healthcare professionals and celebrities. Also, the event will host a iDance4aCure, which helps raise money for children’s cancer research.
“I think the run will be a great fundraiser and encourage people to sign up because of it is more interactive and you can spend time with your friends,” junior club member, Maggie Heatherton said.
For people who want to participate in the race, they can join a current team or start their own. Starting a team requires a donation, but does not require any more fundraising, but the teams still have the option to raise money for the event. More information can be found on the event’s website.
“Participating in the event will really give back to the community, and help expose more people to see how so many cancer victims are suffering everyday,” sophomore club member, Niki Weaver said.
In the coming months the club will organize scheduled bake sales to help raise money. The proceeds from the bake sales will go to the National Brain Tumor Society and the American Brain Tumor Association.
“We hope we can start scheduling our bake sales regularly, so we can be donating more often,” Raffety said.
In the future, the club hopes to help raise awareness of brain cancer, and really show our community how people are suffering from brain cancer. They hope to work with more local organizations and volunteering or participating in other charity events.
“My hope for the club is to bring more awareness to the problem people are having with brain cancer,” Raffety said. “Working with local organizations and charities will hopefully be next the step in the club’s future.”
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