Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/31/11
From Press Releases

The Eastern University men’s lacrosse team will host King’s College in a Middle Atlantic Conference game Saturday at 1 p.m.

In response to several factors, the Eastern program has committed the day, in conjunction with the HEADstrong Foundation, to raise awareness of leukemia and other cancers.

Eastern goalie Aaron Benz is a big part of the story. The sophomore from Louisville, Ky. is a cancer survivor. He underwent chemo treatments through his first semester at Eastern.

Benz and the Eastern defense have held their last three opponents under five goals.

Beyond Benz, there are other stories as well. Throughout the basketball season, Eastern athletics, collected over $1200 to help wipe out pediatric cancer through a program called Change for CHoP. Fans were asked to make a donation of loose change at the gate or at the concession to contribute to the fund.

For the HEADstrong event on Saturday, the approach will be a lot more personal. Eastern Lacrosse has a connection with a four-year-old boy named Trey Love. He and his family attend Hope Community Church, and he is in his second battle with a rare form of Cancer.

There is no gate charged for home lacrosse games at Eastern, but the team asks everyone attending the game to bring at least a $1 donation to support the Love Family and to support Trey and his family as they battle a second time. The decision to make the donation to that particular foundation was tough, because there are so many families that face the challenge, but Coach Childs and several of the Eastern players know the family from church and they felt Trey’s battle can only serve to raise awareness of the disease overall.

Finally, fans will be asked to give more than money. On the following video, Chris Farrar talks about the importance of Stem Cell Donation in the fight against certain types of cancers. There will be a tent on site where people will have the chance to sign up as Stem Cell Donors.

The HEADstrong Foundation has adopted lime green as its signature color. In support of that foundation and their efforts to generate funds for cancer research, support survivor, and raise awareness of blood cancers, Eastern lacrosse asks that fans in attendance wear some lime green to game.