Event will celebrate schools and communities that have hosted purple games to help fight cancer
Event Info
Grand Rapids, Mich. (August 2, 2010) – On Wednesday, August 4, the West Michigan Whitecaps will host a Community for a Cure purple night to support cancer research at Van Andel Institute (VAI), raise awareness, and celebrate the schools and communities that have raised more than $130,000 for cancer research since April 2009 through Community for a Cure Purple Games.
The game starts at 7:00 p.m. at Fifth Third Ballpark. Whitecaps players will wear purple jerseys, and there will be purple foam fingers, glow sticks, T-shirts, and cotton candy for sale. Attendees also will have a chance to bid on a custom-purple Major League Baseball bat autographed by the 2010 Whitecaps players.
“We hope to create a ‘sea of purple’ to show the passion and excitement that the community has built around this initiative,” said VAI Vice President of Communications and External Relations Joseph Gavan. “The level of support and commitment has been truly amazing.”
Through VAI’s Community for a Cure initiative, schools and communities come together at sporting events to share stories, lean on each other for support, celebrate hope, and raise funds to help fight cancer. Schools all over Michigan have either hosted or participated in Community for a Cure Purple Games, which have raised more than $130,000 for cancer research. Community for a Cure has grown to include non-sporting events as well; Road Rodz Car Club is hosting a car show event August 27 to support cancer research in honor of Christine Goedhart, a club member who died of breast cancer in 2008.
Tickets for the Whitecaps event are still available. The game is sponsored by Warner, Norcross, & Judd, as well as the Grand Rapids Downtown Holiday Inn.
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About Van Andel Institute
Established by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996, Van Andel Institute (VAI) is an independent research and educational organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich., dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science, and to achieving excellence in education by probing fundamental issues of education and the learning process. VARI, the research arm of VAI, is dedicated to probing the genetic, cellular and molecular origins of cancer, Parkinson and other diseases and working to translate those findings into effective therapies. This is accomplished through the work of over 200 researchers in 18 on-site laboratories and in collaborative partnerships that span the globe. VARI is affiliated with the Translational Genomics Research Institute, (TGen), of Phoenix, Arizona.
