The very first Mitch Kline Cav-A-Thon will take place this year and has been in the planning process since May 2017. Named after late softball coach Mitch Kline, the Student Athlete Association Committee has been working hard to organize this event and is on a mission for success.
Everyday, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer. Cancer affects all ethnic, gender and socio-economic groups. Cav-A-Thon proceeds go towards children battling pediatric cancer at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Multiple committees of dedicated students worked all year to help fundraise and raise awareness for this cause.
“Having an event like this can serve as such a positive impact on a college experience,” Cav-A-Thon overall Captain Britt Runyen said. “This is our chance to give back and help the children who battle something they have no control over everyday.”
Cav-A-Thon’s original fundraising goal was $10,000. To their surprise, they surpassed that goal a week before their main event on March 24, 2018. In hopes of raising even more, they increased their goal to $12,000 on their online fundraising page.
“Being a part of something like this is so special, and we are lucky we have this opportunity in front of us,” Cav-A-Thon family relations Co-Captian Joe Fiore said. “Cabrini is doing big things! I really think this event is going to go really well.”
The main event will occur in the Nerney Field House in the Dixon Center on Cabrini University’s campus. It will run from 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. and will have food, games, contests, a DJ, dance floor and information on the cause. Families of children who suffer from pediatric cancer will also be in attendance.
The eight committees responsible for preparing this event include public relations, events, family relations and much more, and all consist of about 10 students each. Many of these students are already student leaders on campus and have been working hard all year to contribute to the success of Cav-A-Thon.
Committee members raised $100 each, while dancers raised $50 each. Signing up to be a dancer includes being able to attend the event and receiving a specific t-shirt. So far, just under 150 dancers have signed up to attend the event.
“Our job is to reach out to families who have been affected by pediatric cancer and try to involve them in the event,” Fiore said. “We are working with one family right now who will be attending the event on Saturday.”
One of the children who is battling pediatric cancer who will benefit from these funds is named Jaxson. The family relations committee had been in contact with him and his family and has had them up on campus for a men’s basketball game. They are also in the process of making gift baskets for Jaxson and his brothers.
The committee leaders and captains are eager for the event and hope that Cav-A-Thon will continue next year and for years to come. They hope that alumni will be just as encouraged as current students to attend this event and donate to the cause.
“With it being our first one, we just want Cav-A-Thon to be an exciting and fun event that everyone will keep coming back too,” Runyen said. “We want to change the lives of some of these kids for the better. Who knows, they might be future Cavaliers one day!”
To donate to the cause click here.
To become a dancer, contact overall captains Britt Runyen or Ryan Brong.
Video filmed by Hope Daluisio, edited by Ryan Brong.
