Help Hawken junior race for the cure

Life. For junior Samantha Kadis, that`s what matters most. She`s been working for a while now trying to pull together a Hawken team for The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation`s Race for the Cure on Saturday, October 14 at 8:30 a.m. at Voinovich Park. But she needs your help. "It took me until I was older to realize how important this cause is and why it`s so important to support," Samantha said. She`s right. It is important. This year more than 200,000 in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer. About 40,000 will die. The Komen Foundation, for the past 20 years, has been leading the charge in the fight against breast cancer, raising over $750 million for research, education and treatment. The Northeast Ohio affiliate, since its beginnings in 1994, has raised about $7 million. Its contingent of the Race brings in more than 15,000 people to support the cause. For Hawken`s team, parents, siblings, students, faculty and friends can join. Those interested can contact Samantha at 08kadsam@hawken.edu for more information, but time is running out. To register for or contribute to the team online, visit the Komen Web site here, click on "Komen Race for the Cure" on the left side of the page and search for the team name: Hawken School. All that`s required is to fill out the information and to pay the $20 fee. The team registration deadline is Tuesday, September 26. If you`d like to sponsor a person on the Hawken team, you may do that also on the site. Once you`ve clicked on \"Komen Race for the Cure,\" click \"register\" and then select the option to \"find a participant to sponsor.\" The deadline for that is Thursday, November 2. If the Race date, Saturday, October 14, seems a familiar Hawken date to you, you`re not alone. It`s Fall Family Fair and Homecoming. The Race, however, begins at 8:30 a.m. You`ll still have time to refresh after the event to make it to the Gates Mills festivities. Join Samantha and the Hawken team. It`s a worthy cause. As Samantha said: "A generation ago many more people died, today many more survive and can lead full lives." That`s thanks to organizations like the Komen Foundation seeking to, as its mission declares, "eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease.\"