SAN JOSE, CA – San Jose Earthquakes defender Todd Dunivant will take part in the 2004 Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay Area's Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's annual Man of the Year fundraising campaign in honor of his brother, Luke, an acute Leukemia survivor. In conjunction with the Earthquakes, Dunivant and five other candidates will compete to raise the most funds in an eight-week period to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). The candidate with the most funds at the end of the period will win the title of Man or Woman of the Year.
"First of all I would like to thank everyone, including players like DaMarcus Beasley, Joe Cannon, Freddy Adu and the entire MetroStars team for helping with this event. It is exciting for me to be a part of something like this and to raise money for such a good cause," Dunivant said. "As my family has learned, this disease can happen to anyone at anytime, so I feel lucky to be able to do my part and help such an important cause."
Todd has been actively involved with LLS since 2001, when Luke was diagnosed with acute Leukemia and required an immediate bone marrow transplant, which he twice received from Todd, who was a perfect bone marrow match. Luke received stem cells from Todd in two separate six-hour procedures.
The Earthquakes will host a silent auction to support LLS and Dunivant's campaign on Saturday, June 12 during the Quakes – MetroStars game at 7:00 p.m. PT at Spartan Stadium. Items up for auction include numerous signed Earthquakes paraphernalia and jerseys signed by MLS stars like Freddy Adu, Joe Cannon, DaMarcus Beasley, and the entire MetroStars team among others.
To contribute to Todd's Man of the Year campaign and support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, please make checks payable to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and mail to 100 North Almaden Ave. San Jose, CA, 95110. Donations are also accepted online via credit card at: www.active.com/donate/dunivant.
As an organization, the Quakes have continued to be involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this year. The Quakes have participated for the past three years in the LLS' Light the Night Walk and are scheduled to take part in the walk on October 2 of this year. The club has also supported the Pennies for Patients programs at Sunnyvale Middle School and Haman Elementary School in Santa Clara and helped raise over $10,000 for LLS.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The Society's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has provided more than $358 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers. For more information on LLS in the Bay Area visit their website at http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_chap.
