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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Join Princeton Soccer on Saturday in the Fight Against A-T
October 10, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Join Princeton soccer in the fight against ataxia-telangiectasia this Saturday, Oct. 15 at Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium when the Tigers host Columbia. The women's game is at 4 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7 p.m.
The event is being spearheaded by men's soccer player Manny Sardinha '12, who received a PVC Service Circle Grant to raise awareness and fundraise for his selected cause, A-T Children's Project.
The Tigers will wear commemorative t-shirts during warm-ups, and those same t-shirts will be available for purchase (cash or check). For a small donation, kids in attendance at the men's game will have the chance to shoot a halftime penalty kick to win a commemorative t-shirt. A donation box will also be set up on the concourse. All proceeds from donations and shirt sales will benefit the A-T Children's Project.
Ataxia-telangiectasia, or "A-T," is a progressive, rare degenerative disease that affects a startling variety of body systems. It combined the symptoms of cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, cancer, and immune deficiencies. Children who could once run and play, sing and talk, read and write, lose their motor skills one by one, are usually in wheelchairs by age ten, and often do not survive their teens. Scientists believe research on ataxia-telangiectasia will help other more prevalent diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cancer because of their similarities with A-T.
GPT had a chance to ask Manny why he got involved in A-T CP.
How did you get involved with A-T CP?
Since the beginning of junior year, I
have been trying to get involved with the A-T Children's Project organization.
It aims to raise awareness and money for a disease called the
Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T). A-T is a rare, genetic disease affecting children,
combining the worst symptoms of cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, muscular
dystrophy, cancer, and immune deficiencies. Children who could once run and
play, sing and talk, read and write, lose their motor skills one by one, are usually
in wheelchairs by age ten, and often do not survive their teens. Scientists
believe research on ataxia-telangiectasia will help other more prevalent
diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and cancer because of their
similarities with A-T. In an effort to help, I thought it would be a great idea
to have a fundraiser to help raise awareness and money for the A-T Children's
Project.
I always hear about other people's fundraisers and see what they have to raise
money and/or awareness for their organizations, but I thought that there was no
organization more deserving than the A-T Children's Project. I have never done
anything like this before, but I asked myself, "Why not me? Why not A-T
Children's Project?". This has been so exciting for me to see my idea
finally come to fruition after a year and a half of planning. I am so grateful
for all the support I am getting from my teammates, coaches, faculty, PVC, A-T
Children's Project, and local families. It has truly been an amazing experience
thus far.
What does this event mean to you?
This event obviously means a lot to me, but it's actually not even about
me; it's more about the kids of A-T Children's Project who might not have the
opportunity to raise awareness or fundraise for themselves. A lot of kids my
age or older would love to do something like this, but I think they might not
have the ability or resources like I do here at Princeton, so I am just doing
what I think a lot of people would have done in my shoes. People who come and
help raise funds for A-T Children's Project are really helping out an amazing
organization that has the potential to help out a lot of awesome and
more-than-deserving kids around the world.
What do you hope to accomplish?
I simply hope to raise awareness for
the A-T Children's Project. I feel like there are some organizations out there
that become unnoticed because they are small or support a cause that maybe
isn't too popular. So having people learn more about the A-T Children's Project
will in itself be great. Someone just has to guide people to the A-T Children's
Project website www.atcp.org and the organization speaks for itself.
In addition, I really hope someone on my team or the women's team (or any team
for that matter!), notices my fundraiser and wants to continue to support A-T
Children's Project for the years to come making it an annual fundraiser by
Princeton athletics.
About A-T Children's Project
The A-T Children's Project is a non-profit organization that raises funds to support and coordinate first-rate biomedical research projects, scientific conferences and a clinical center aimed at finding a cure or life-improving therapies for ataxia-telangiectasia, a lethal genetic disease that attacks children, causing progressive loss of muscle control, immune system problems, and a strikingly high rate of cancer, especially leukemia and lymphoma. To learn more visit ww.atcp.org.