Who would guess that three used footwear may collectively web 5 figures?
That’s the hope of the Christmas Without Cancer officers when the smoke clears from its third Touchdown Showdown occasion, which takes place Saturday, Feb. 4 at St. James Place in Oak Lawn.
One of the primary occasions is the raffling of Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive finish Patrick O’Connor’s shoe that he wore in a sport in 2022.
He has donated an autographed cleat for the previous two occasions, and Christmas Without Cancer Vice President Renee Copeland mentioned the primary two cleats fetched roughly $6,000. She hopes this yr’s shoe public sale will double that and lift $6,000.
This yr, the successful bundle additionally will characteristic a Tampa Bay Buccaneers medallion and movie body full of $50 payments.
“This is his hometown and he has quite the following,” Copeland mentioned. “His family and friends actually participate in the event.”
O’Connor’s aunt Dottie Kirwan, a breast most cancers survivor, “always pulls the ticket for us,” Copeland mentioned.
“Every dollar helps,” she mentioned. “It adds up and helps our organization. And all of this brings attention to us in a positive way.”
Raffle tickets are $10 and could be bought by way of Saturday at St. James Place, 5305 West ninety fifth Street in Oak Lawn or on-line at https://app.donorview.com/DxDDp.
The occasion may also have a split-the-pot drawing and drawings for baskets that embody prizes of lottery tickets, football-themed objects and a basket that includes White Claw merchandise.
The drawing for the cleats will happen at 8 p.m. Saturday at St. James Place and will likely be streamed stay on the Christmas Without Cancer Facebook web page.
My Cause, My Cleats is an NFL initiative that enables soccer gamers to decide on a charitable trigger with and so they put on customized cleats throughout a sport showcasing their trigger.
This is the third yr the 29-year-old O’Connor has chosen Christmas Without Cancer for his charity.
The St. Rita and Eastern Michigan graduate has made a pleasant profession for himself on particular groups. He will get some restricted time in on protection and in 2020, the primary time we wore the particular cleats, he chalked up his first profession NFL sack.
Christmas Without Cancer founder Gerri Neylon mentioned it was the primary time her group acquired nationwide consideration.
The charity began up in 2003 and has aided hundreds of individuals throughout the Chicago space by offering vacation items, in addition to fundamental requirements to households which can be stricken with most cancers.
Copeland is fast to level out that regardless of the title, the charity helps households all yr and never simply through the vacation season.
She mentioned the group identifies and adopts a number of households all year long and provides them with reward playing cards for groceries, drugs, gasoline, and different want objects, in addition to assist with mortgage funds, lease, day care bills, tuition and travel-related bills for therapy.
“We receive applications from families every single day,” Copeland mentioned. “And we assist households each single day. So, the necessity is certainly there.
“Christmas is our busiest time of the year and we help the most families but when it’s over, we go right back into it. It’s a terrible disease and I feel like every day — the stories we hear — it makes you want to do more.”
While dying from most cancers proves to be inevitable for among the households, there are also some that have happier outcomes, and that makes Copeland really feel good.
Earlier in January, Copeland had a feel-good encounter with survivor Christine Erfft.
“This woman had a terrible stomach cancer,” Copeland mentioned. “She needed to have a big a part of her abdomen eliminated. One of my favourite photos I ever posted on our social media pages is that this lady holding up a poster that mentioned ‘cancer free.’
“She ended up coming to our Christmas party and I got to meet her for the first time. It was just so nice to meet her in person. She was a person we helped and she was so thankful and grateful. What a remarkable thing.”
Jeff Vorva is a contract reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com