NCAA Coaches Rally Cancer Advocates

I can’t think of a more energizing way to kick off ACS CAN’s lobby day than with a rally hosted by NCAA Division 1 basketball coaches! This morning three current and former NCAA coaches rallied on hundreds of volunteers as they prepared to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill.

As someone passionate about sports and cancer advocacy, it’s always energizing to hear from members of Coaches vs. Cancer®, a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, who are committed to fighting this disease in their communities. The program empowers coaches and their teams to join our efforts against cancer through advocacy, raising awareness and fundraising, and I love that we’re joined each year at Leadership Summit & Lobby Day by some of these powerhouse coaches.

Leading the rally were Coach Fran McCaffery of the University of Iowa and his wife Margaret, an American Cancer Society Board Director; Coach Jamion Christian of George Washington University and his wife Allie; and retired coach and two-time cancer survivor Dave Rose of Brigham Young University and his wife Cheryl. The coaches shared their personal connections to cancer and why they’re motivated to join our fight to reduce the cancer burden.

• “People often call D.C. the most powerful city in the world because people come here to make big, big decisions. And that’s what you’re going to be part of today…The work you’re doing here today, not only has the opportunity to change a law, but what it really does is let people experience hope and be inspired.” – Coach Christian
• “I hope each and every one of you know how much Margaret and I appreciate you being here, doing what you do. We’re going to make a difference today…We’re going to make sure that people who hear that terrible news have more birthdays.” – Coach McCaffery
• “I’ve coached over 400 games and held over 2,000 practices, all with a disease that people like you have fought so hard against, looking for treatment and cures. Your work today will help future cancer patients, just like the work of volunteers before you has helped me.” – Coach Rose

On behalf of all of us at ACS CAN, I want to thank Coach McCaffery, Coach Rose, Coach Christian along with Margaret, Allie and Cheryl, for taking time out of their incredibly busy schedules to join our volunteers here in Washington, D.C. We’re glad to have them as partners in this fight.

I wish them all a successful upcoming basketball season!