FB Players Volunteer at UM Marrow Donor Drive
CORAL GABLES, Fla. –Every four minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer like Leukemia. That’s a frightening but all too real statistic. But, the “cure for blood cancer is in the hands of ordinary people.”
Members of the Miami Hurricanes football team recruited bone marrow donors with the University of Miami community during Wednesday’s third annual Marrow Donor Drive along the Green.
“I would like to thank everyone in the UM community that participated in Wednesday’s event to support the Be The Match® Registry,” head coach Al Golden said. “Stewardship and gratitude are very instrumental components in the development of young people and our team has demonstrated these values consistently every year. I am extremely proud that our team was able to register 216 people during the five-hour event.
“Thank you to the University of Miami student body and campus community members who decided to make a difference and join the Be The Match® Registry,” Golden said. “Our Director of Player Development Ryan McNamee did a tremendous job organizing our event yet again for the sixth consecutive year and a special thanks is also in order to the Community Blood Centers of Florida for all of their dedication & effort in the quest to save lives through marrow donation.”
Players handed out flyers and recruited participants from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. during the WellCanes Farmer’s Market. The cause left an indelible mark on many players took a photo with a UM freshman named John, who is a cancer survivor and bone marrow transplant recipient.
The Marrow Donor Drive also holds a special place for Golden, whose teams also participated with the Be The Match® Registry at Temple University. Temple graduate extern Marc Schaffer, who volunteered to register for the bone marrow drive as a freshman in 2008, donated his marrow earlier this week.
“The Bone Marrow Drive is a two-fold process,” UM Director of Player Development Ryan McNamee said. “It’s us giving back to the community and raising awareness for the National Marrow Donor Registry, but it’s all our guys working together for a common goal. Today is about teamwork, communication and getting the word out there for a great cause.”
WR Phillip Dorsett, RBs Duke Johnson and Dallas Crawford, DB AJ Highsmith, QB Ryan Williams and LB Tyriq McCord were just a few of the many players handing out flyers and conversing with their fellow students all over campus and along the Green. From there, players were able to direct potential donors to both the registration tent and to the Miami Scoops ice cream stand, which provided a free scoop to whoever took part in the registry.
Thursday is the Hurricanes’ final spring practice before concluded the spring with the annual BankUnited Spring Game, which will be held Saturday at 3 p.m. at Sun Life Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3 and both WQAM and WVUM will broadcast the game on the radio.
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