Over the years, I have had a number of different inspirations for my involvement with St. Baldrick’s. In the earliest years, I was a 4th grader who wanted to be like his dad. From there, it became routine. Christmas was December, my birthday was June, St. Baldrick’s was March, and it was on autopilot for a few years.
In high school, a group of my closest friends at Regis High School rallied around our friend and teammate Billy Fox, who recently lost his mother to Breast Cancer. That year, Billy founded the Crissy Fox Foundation in his mother’s honor and we raised over $50,000.
Not unlike anything else, life (and a little bit of vanity) got in the way the last couple years and I sat the past two events out.
What inspired the recent reinvigoration was the story of Blaise Davis, who recently passed away after a battle with secondary-AML, an aggressive form of Leukemia, brought on from the chemo he received for his Ewing’s Sarcoma. Some of you may remember Blaise as the four year old boy Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu surprised in his playhouse after the 2016 National Championship. You can read more about Blaise and his story at the link below on a blog kept by Andrew Miller and Blaise’s mother, Ann Davis, throughout his journey.
Blaise inspired so many in the Villanova community and beyond. Through ‘Blaise A Trail,’ the hope is that we can continue to effect change in his memory, as well as showcase change already in action. The Women’s Lacrosse Team at Villanova is in the midst of joint fundraiser with HEADstrong in honor of Kathleen O’Connor ‘18, a Nova Lacrosse alumnus who beat cancer on two separate occasions. Tri Delta hosts an annual kickball tournament around which they raise money to donate to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Kappa Kappa Gamma annually hosts a 3 on 3 basketball tournament and the proceeds go directly to breast cancer research. NOVAdance has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the B+ Foundation.
What unites these efforts beyond the obvious is a desire and willingness to get outside of ourselves, do our part, and Blaise a Trail. Whatever the circumstance, anybody can empathize with the struggle to remain present and accepting what is and is not within the realm of our control. Blaise is and will continue to be an embodiment of what we all strive to be.
With Blaise's Villanova Superfandom in mind, I set my personal goal at $4.7k and the team goal at $47,000, the significance of the 4.7 stemming from the 2016 National Championship after North Carolina's Marcus Paige hit an improbable, double pump 3 pointer to tie the game at 74 with 4.7 seconds left on the clock. A Jay Wright timeout, a Jenkins to Arch inbounds, a Chef high ball screen at half court, a flip to a trailing Jenkins, and the infamous Jim Nantz call "Jenkins...For the championship...!!!" later, and Blaise's Wildcats were National Champions for the first time since 1985.
We need you to join us in the fight against this insidious disease. If you deem you cannot shave your head for whatever reason, find someone who will and center your fundraising efforts around them. As of now, this team alone spans different circles at Villanova University, The University of Miami, Emory University, William & Mary, Notre Dame, Fordham, Wesleyan, and Holy Cross, united, like anyone else, by empathy, love, suffering, and, in this case, the desire to be the light Blaise was for so many. Every bit helps and it only takes a little for efforts like these to take on a life of their own. If not with St. Baldrick's, effect change elsewhere. Live in the present. Accept what you cannot change and Change the things you can. Now, let's go out there and Blaise a Trail.
http://blaisedavis.blogspot.com/
https://www.tmz.com/2016/04/15/villanova-tmz-sports-blaise-davis/
