Irish To Host Annual Daughters For Dads Campaign Against Duke
Fans can donate anytime by texting "NDFIGHTS" to 41444
The Notre Dame women's lacrosse team will hold their annual Daughters for Dads fundraiser on Sunday, April 15, when they host Duke at Arlotta Stadium at 1 p.m. ET.
In honor of Irish lacrosse alumnae whose fathers lost their fight to cancer, Notre Dame's Daughters for Dads campaign will raise money for Notre Dame's Harper Cancer Research Institute.
"Please join me and the Notre Dame women's lacrosse team in our relentless pursuit of fighting cancer by raising funds to find a cure for the disease," said head coach Christine Halfpenny. "Four years ago, our program suffered two heartbreaking losses to our women's lacrosse family, both were fathers to two of our alumni. In that same calendar year, two of my former players from William & Mary also suffered the loss of their fathers to cancer. The pain of losing a parent too soon was felt by our entire lacrosse community. The reality of this cruel disease taking away our loved ones too soon put the Notre Dame women's lacrosse team into motion launching our Daughters for Dads annual awareness and fundraising initiative."
"When my father, Bryan, was diagnosed with terminal cancer the summer going into my sophomore year at Notre Dame, it shook my entire foundation," said Irish alumni Jordy Shoemaker. "For a fleeting moment, I thought perhaps the best decision I could make for my family would be to leave South Bend and return to Boston. Thankfully, I didn't, because Notre Dame served as a beacon of light for me and my family during our hardest journey."
Early-arriving fans will receive a commemorative Daughters for Dads hat along with opportunities to purchase Daughters for Dads pint glasses.
Notre Dame encourages fans to pay $5 to participate in the lacrosse toss at halftime, with the lucky winner receiving a $150 shopping spree at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore.
During halftime, Professor Reginald Hill of the Harper Cancer Institute will be recognized for his contributions in the fight against cancer during Harper's Month of Hope.
"Now in our fourth year, the goal is to raise awareness and funds to help researchers put an end to cancer taking our loved ones away from us," said Halfpenny. "Our fight is fueled by the memories we share of Bryan Shoemaker, Don Tremblay, David Anderson and Phil Mulvey. We can still hear their encouraging voices in the stands and see their smiles when the sun is shining on ND women's lacrosse and WM women's lacrosse. We know that their fighting spirit is still with us and we will continue our relentless pursuit of winning the battle against cancer by raising funds to put an end to this horrible disease. No one has said it better than Jordy Shoemaker: `Dollars lead to research, research leads to more time, and more time is priceless.' We look forward to seeing you on April 15th to help us in our fight against cancer. GO IRISH!"