Light the Night, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s annual fundraising and awareness walk will take place on Oct. 1.
For senior Tara DiDomizio, this date has greater significance.
It will mark one year cancer free for the Diplomacy and International Relations student.
“I had Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which is the worst lymphoma you can get,” DiDomizio said. “It was in my lungs; it was everywhere. There were people sitting right next to me that didn’t make it.”
DiDomizio is organizing a group of Seton Hall students to attend the walk which will take place at Brookdale Park in Montclair.
“This is the cancer I had last year,” she said. “Everyone helped me in everything I did. I just want to give back. This is something that is near and dear to my heart.”
DiDomizio had an opportunity to go to El Salvador and visit a cancer hospital there last year over her spring vacation as part of the annual Releasing the Doves spring break trip, sponsored by the Division Of Volunteer Efforts.
“It was heartbreaking,” she said. “They had 20 people in a 105 degree room with no painkillers.”
DiDomizio said every class at Seton Hall is represented in the walk, but the majority are freshmen.
Participation in the walk can count towards their University Life course requirements.
“It’s now a COMPASS activity, so lots of freshmen are involved,” she said.
DiDomizio, a resident assistant in Boland Hall, said a lot of resident assistants are using the walk as a community builder for their residents.
The Undergraduate Diplomacy Student Association is cosponsoring with DiDomizio. Several sororities are also taking part.
“Everyone has been affected by cancer, so that’s why I think there was such a good response,” DiDomizio said.
UDSA President, junior Matthew Johnson, agreed.
“Everyone has someone in their six degrees of separation that is affected by cancer everyday,” Johnson said. “UDSA feels that no one should be an exception in doing all they can to eradicate this.”
Junior Katie Hodock has also been raising money for Light the Night.
“I think that the Light the Night walk is important primarily to raise money that will lead to cures,” she said. “But the real reason that I am walking is to celebrate survivors like Tara DiDomizio and also to celebrate my dad who is also a survivor.”
Light the Night is an evening walk in which all the participants carry illuminated balloons.
Survivors hold white balloons, while friends, family and other volunteers carry red balloons.
“I think it is a great way of bringing together survivors and their families to celebrate life,” Hodock said.
According to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, more than 700,000 Americans have some kind of blood cancer. Leukemia kills more people under the age of 20 than any other cancer.
“(The walks) are not only a nationwide effort to raise support for cancer research, but are a platform for people from all walks of life, of all ages, and from all backgrounds to come together to stamp out one of the top killers of our fellow man,” Johnson said. “UDSA has been involved in Light the Night for the past year, and as long as we're invited, we will continue to partake in what we see as an extremely important display of faith and defiance in the face of this unprejudiced murderer.”
It is possible to register as late as the day of the walk, starting at 5:30 p.m. at Brookdale Park.
If you need more information, want to make a donation or need help finding a ride to the walk, contact DiDomizio or the Division of Volunteer Efforts. .
|