When I was 11 years old, my Granddad was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was a huge blow to my family and we felt helpless. As a way to fight back against the terrible disease, my parents created a non-profit foundation (“The Cure for Cancer Soccer Foundation”) and used our love of soccer to bring exposure to cancer and its research efforts. It was a way that my siblings, my friends, and I could play soccer while also doing something worthwhile. We got local sponsors, attended regional and national 3v3 events, and participated in fundraising events throughout the year (this was outside of our club/competitive teams). At the end of each year, we (the players), all decided where we wanted to donate the money. Each year, we chose Alex’s Lemonade Stand because of it’s focus on childhood cancer with an emphasis on research. We chose our team colors of gold and lavender because those color represent childhood cancer (gold) and ALL cancers (lavender).
The Cure no longer competes together because of club and school commitments, but it remains one of my most favorite times and something I will always be proud of doing. Each year, every player chose one cancer victim to play for. We started The Cure when my Granddad was diagnosed and we lost him our second year. I will always be thankful that he got to see what we were trying to do. I dedicated my years to him.
This was my bio for our fundraising brochures:
Ellie Coffield 