Young Skaters Shine in 'Skate for Hope'
byJoanne Vassallo Jamrosz, special to U.S. Figure Skating Online
.jpg) |
Together they were part of a cast of more than 100 skaters that joined a collection of today's biggest skating stars, including Rachael Flatt, Johnny Weir, Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates, Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin, Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker, and Emily Hughes, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, for the 2010 Skate for Hope ice show benefitting breast cancer research.
Dean has many fond memories from participating in past shows, but one show especially stands out.
"Last year Emily Hughes asked me why I was skating in the show," said Dean, a member of the Charleston Figure Skating Club. "I told her my Nana was a breast cancer survivor. She introduced me to her mom and said, 'This is my mom. She is a breast cancer survivor, too. Aren't we lucky to still have the ladies we love?'"
Adult figure skater and breast cancer survivor Carolyn Bongirno founded Skate for Hope in 2004. When she was 33, Bongirno battled and overcame a stage-three cancer diagnosis. She credits figure skating and her skating friends with helping her stay positive throughout her treatment. Bongirno created Skate for Hope to help empower young girls and women to better cope with a friend or family member's cancer diagnosis and to teach the importance of giving back to one's community.
"Skate for Hope utilizes figure skating, a sport that epitomizes women's strength, to bring attention, resources and education to fight against breast cancer," Bongirno said. "Each year over 100 skaters from the Central Ohio region come together to celebrate life, cancer survivors and the hope of a future free from breast cancer."
Dean and nine other figure skaters from clubs up and down the East Coast were also the show's top skating fundraisers.
Sabrina Brush of the Skating Club of Central Ohio raised more than $2,000 for the cause, and as one of the top fundraisers, she had the honor of presenting flowers to the guest skaters. Brush skated in honor of her best friend's mother, Lori Garrabrant, who believed "Life should be lived every moment, and dreams should not wait."
"Being a part of Skate for Hope let me honor Lori in the most special way I could," Brush said. "But it's more than that. I never want another mom, sister, grandmother, aunt or friend to not reach their dreams because of breast cancer."
-with-Emily-and-Evan%20(Photo%20by%20Linnea%20Gold).jpg) |
"I had so much fun and am so blessed and want everyone with breast cancer to know we want to help them to be cured," Laura Stegner said.
Alyssa Stegner said standing backstage among all the famous skaters - who were there for the same reason she was - was something very special.
"I always love getting to meet them and talk to them," Alyssa said. "The day of the show, we got to see them practice and warm up, and it is always fun because they are so nice and will come over and talk to us and take pictures."
For 9-year-old Marina Nesbitt, participating in her first Skate for Hope was special not only because she was one of the top 10 fundraisers but also because she is a new Ohio resident. Nesbitt and her family moved last summer from Syracuse, N.Y., where she was a member of the Syracuse and Camillus figure skating clubs. Today, Nesbitt skates with the Skating Club of Central Ohio and enjoyed the various family members from New York, Virginia and North Carolina who came to cheer her on.
"I was able to honor my Great Aunt Donna as a breast cancer survivor and surprise her with a rose," Nesbitt said. "It also gave me a chance to skate with lots of other skaters for a good cause and watch skating stars I have only seen on TV, skate in person. I am happy to be able to do something I love and help people at the same time."
Sarah Cait Knott is a Skate for Hope veteran, having skated in the past six shows. The 12-year-old from the Columbus Figure Skating Club remembers former shows and feels she is really making a difference in the fight against breast cancer.
She is also the top fundraiser, raising more than $5,000.
"Skate for Hope is very important to me because it is a way I can help my grandmother and others who have breast cancer," Knott said. "I get to do something I love and make a difference at the same time."
At the end of the show, these young skaters felt a sense of pride and achievement.
"The thing I love about Skate for Hope is that I can help make a difference in the world," Gold said. "It makes me proud that I am helping hospitals get the funds for research so that they can find a cure."
