When tragedy strikes, people have to choose whether they will give in or use the situation to strengthen themselves and those around them.
After seeing her father go through cancer treatment, Hannah di Lorenzo, junior exercise and sports science major, decided to create the Every Meter Matters Row for a Cure to raise money for Joe DiMaggio’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. The event will be on March 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Alvin Sherman Library Quad.
Participants will be able to use rowing machines set up in the quad to race against the women’s rowing team, family and friends. Coaches and rowers will be available to talk about the benefits of the sport and answer any questions. Marilyn Gordon, licensed sports nutritionist, will table at the event with health information related to the sport.
There will also be music, food, giveaways and other activities. Although the event is free, the rowing team will accept donations. All of the proceeds will go to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation, which provides clinical trial programs, a neuro-oncology clinic, pediatric cancer survivorship program, pediatric palliative care program and sickle cell transition program for its patients at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
Although financial support is helpful, said di Lorenzo, when a loved one is going through cancer treatment, what families really need is emotional support.
“It’s important that people see and support what other families go through,” she said. “It is very hard, and it’s when you start to see the physical changes that it really starts to affect you.”
Although pediatric cancers comprise less than 1 percent of total cancers every year, the number of cases of pediatric cancer for those under 15 has steadily increased for more than a decade, according to cancer.org.
“I wanted to find a way to give back and help families find their way through tough situations,” di Lorenzo said.
Row for a Cure also serves as a kick-off event for the beginning of the women’s rowing team’s season, which begins April 1 at the FIRA Championships in Sarasota, Fla.
Along with raising cancer awareness, di Lorenzo hopes to introduce the sport to more people and make Row for a Cure an annual event on campus.
“When people hear ‘NSU,’ I want them to think, ‘Hey, that’s the university that hosted the big cancer event,’” she said.
Attendees will have to sign a waiver, which will be available the day of the event, before using the rowing machines. For more information, contact di Lorenzo at hd249@nova.edu.
