Cleveland Browns’ Kicker Billy Cundiff Launches 2014 Kicking For The Dream Fundraising Campaign to Help Colleen’s Dream Foundation Fund Ovarian Cancer Research
Cleveland Browns’ kicker Billy Cundiff has launched the 2014 Kicking For The Dream fundraising campaign in an effort to engage kicking specialists at all levels, to help Colleen’s Dream Foundation fund research for the early detection of, and advanced treatment for, ovarian cancer.
Cundiff launched Kicking For The Dream in 2013.
“The 2013 Kicking For The Dream campaign performed better than we could have ever dreamed,” says Cundiff. “What started out as a small project ended up with support from multiple NFL players, AFL players and high school kickers who helped raise over $40,000.”
Cundiff says the 2014 Kicking For The Dream season has already seen almost three times as many high school kicking specialists sign on to the campaign than participated in 2013. He is very excited about this and says his goal in 2014 is to reach deep into the high school community to engage them in the campaign.
“This year we have already almost tripled the number of high school kickers who have enrolled in the Kicking For The Dream campaign,” says Cundiff. “As the momentum continues to build, we are excited about the positive impact this program is going to have on ovarian cancer research.”
Cundiff says the campaign has already reached to his hometown.
“I am excited because the kicker for my hometown, Ethan Knudson, has signed up. Also, Greg Conry, who used to kick for the high school team and is now the kicker at Peru State College, has signed up for Kicking For The Dream,” says Cundiff. “There are three Harlan, Iowa guys participating. And we are keeping our fingers crossed, but we might also add another NFL guy.”
“A couple of the high school kids are crushing the fundraising,” says Cundiff. “We have already raised over $8,000 and the season has just started!”
Go here to donate to Kicking For The Dream.
Cundiff says he started Kicking For The Dream, along with Colleen’s Dream Foundation, as a response to loosing his mother-in-law to ovarian cancer. He says ovarian cancer is often referred to as ‘the silent killer’ because many women do not discover their disease until it is in the late stages.
“Many women succumb to this disease within a short period of time, because unlike cervical or breast cancer, ovarian cancer does not have a standardized early detection procedure,” says Cundiff. “That is what happened to my mother-in-law, Colleen Drury.”
“My mother-in-law was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer in 2007,” says Cundiff. “That experience made me – and my wife’s family – aware of a new world filled with invasive surgery, harsh chemotherapy, and lots of uncertainty.”
Cundiff says it was Colleen’s wish that a foundation be created to help other women facing the same situation she faced. That is why he decided to start Colleen’s Dream Foundation.
“Colleen felt it was important to raise money for research that will lead to reliable early detection testing and improved treatment for ovarian cancer,” says Cundiff. “Because so little is known about ovarian cancer in proportion to other women’s health issues, we have an incredible opportunity for research and education.”
According to Cundiff, Colleen’s Dream Foundation has already worked with some of the top research hospitals and universities that are researching ovarian cancer. He says the Foundation has already given a number of gifts and grants as seed funding to fund “cutting-edge research” by some of the brightest young minds in the world.
“As much as we love and miss Colleen, unfortunately we are not the only ones to experience this reality,” says Cundiff. “Colleen’s Dream Foundation is our chance to help others who are directly affected by this terrible disease.”
Using his status as a professional football player, Cundiff started Kicking For The Dream as a “funding mechanism” for Colleen’s Dream Foundation. He says Kicking For The Dream was Colleen’s Dream Foundation largest fundraiser in the fall of 2013.
“My experience is that kicking specialists are some of the most caring and generous people I know,” says Cundiff. “So I am looking forward to reaching out, and engaging them in the 2014 season, in our effort to battle ovarian cancer.”
ABOUT COLLEEN’S DREAM FOUNDATION:
Colleen’s Dream Foundation started in 2012 and supports research for early detection and improved treatment for ovarian cancer. The story of Colleen’s Dream started in 2007 when Colleen Drury –Nicole Cundiff’ mother and Billy Cundiff’s mother-in-law- was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. The family became aware of a new world that was filled with invasive surgery, harsh chemotherapy, and lots of uncertainty, and realized they needed to help others who were dealing with ovarian cancer.
Colleen’s Dream Foundation believes it is important to raise money for research that will lead to reliable early detection testing and improved treatment for ovarian cancer. Because so little is known about ovarian cancer in proportion to other women’s health issues, there is an incredible opportunity for research and education.
Colleen’s Dream Foundation is a qualified 501 (c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization based in Phoenix, Arizona.