UVa Student-Athletes Help Shoot Out Cancer in New Ways
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – While University of Virginia’s student-athletes have been organizing Shoot Out for Cancer, an annual spring festival and fundraiser for cancer research, for 15 years, new financial backers and a new charity have given the event a raised profile.
UVa’s Student-Athlete Mentors (SAMs), as leaders within the athletic community, reach out to youth in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, volunteering time and giving presentations at elementary schools and hospitals, acting as positive role models off the field. This effort culminates on Sunday, April 20, in an afternoon carnival and picnic that enables kids to interact with and “compete” against UVa’s student-athletes, providing a day of fun for a great cause.
The event has seen additional financial support this year coming from the University’s student body, a first for an event typically spearheaded by the athletic department. The representative student council chose to donate its unused funds to Shootout, providing for bigger games and greater exposure.
Kids and student-athletes play games, jump on moon bounces, run through a real obstacle course, get autographs, and both kids and adults get to fill up on lunch catered by some of Charlottesville’s most popular restaurants. There will also be a silent auction of collectible UVa sports memorabilia from current student-athletes and professional athletes for the grown-ups.
The SAMs have also chosen a new recipient of this year’s funds the Patients and Friends Research Fund at the UVa Cancer Center will receive all proceeds from the event. Patients and Friends, a fund started in 2000 to support innovative cancer research, has raised more than $2 million dollars to sponsor promising research to help discover new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.
The community is invited to spend the afternoon with UVa’s student-athletes and join the University’s fight against cancer. Tickets for the event are $5. The Shoot Out for Cancer will take place in Madison Bowl at the corner of Rugby Road and University Ave from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
For more information on the SAMs or the Patients Fund at the UVA Cancer Center you can visit:
Student-Athlete Mentors (SAMs):
http://www.athletic.virginia.edu/lifeskills/sam/
UVA Cancer Center:
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/cancer/