Blake's Project

Blake is a member of the Mass One Elite youth hockey team, which has been raising money for Pennies in Action for the last 3 years. Mass One Elite takes part in the Philly AAA International Tournament held at IceWorks Skating Complex every summer. The members of the team have been asking friends and family for their support in donations to PIA through collection jars, and separate donations. This year (2011), Blake decided to take things a bit further, and made raising money for PIA his Community Service project. He sent out an email to over 100 friends and family members, asking their support in raising $2,000 for the breast cancer vaccine research. The response was phenomenal - he ended up raising $2,010! Several of his teammates took up his lead, and sent out emails of their own.

Blake and his family have agreed to share his letter here, for anyone who wants to use it as a base for their own fundraising efforts. Thanks Blake, and congratulations!

Here is Blake's letter:

Dear Friends and Family,

This summer I am very fortunate to be able to combine my passion, hockey with my community service project, Pennies In Action. 

German Olympic Skater and Olympic Coach Uschi Keszler founded PIA. Uschi is a breast and uterine cancer survivor.

As an elite athlete, Uschi was aware of the power and resiliency of the human body. So when she decided to help find a way to beat cancer, she knew that she could not support something that would destroy the body in order to heal it. Finding out that her surgeon Dr. Brian Czerniecki was already in clinical trials of a vaccine that utilizes the patient’s own immune system to fight breast cancer, she knew she had found her first project. This is the only trial of its kind in the world that has shown such promise towards a CURE for cancer.  

My hockey team, Mass One Elite will be traveling to Pennsylvania on June 29 - July 3, to play in the Philly AAA International.
There we will present Uschi Keszler and Dr. Czerniecki with the money my teammates and I have raised.
On Aug 7th, we hope to travel to Prague, Czech Republic to play in the Czech Challenge. 
I'm very fortunate to be a part of this team and its commitment in the fight against cancer. 
My goal is $2,000.00. I would be very grateful for any contribution you can make. 

Please go to http://www.penniesinaction.org/.
Click on donate, at Dr. Czerniecki's research section. After you have made a donation, your confirmation page will appear. Please click on "My gift is in honor of" and put in "BLAKE CHAPMAN/TEAM MASS '96".  

Have a great summer and see you at the rink!  

Blake Chapman