$35,000 Raised By the Marianne Volpe 5K and Pumpkin Fun Run
The Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) is very pleased that the 4th Annual Marianne Volpe 5K and Pumpkin Fun Run at Baldwin Park on October 24 was a huge success.
27 student-athletes from the LIU Post women’s soccer team were at the fun run, which benefited the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the North Shore Long Island Jewish Monter Cancer Center. They were joined by their entire coaching staff, including head coach Mark Dawson, who also coaches in Eastern New York’s Olympic Development Program (ODP), and assistant coach Josefa Pace, a former ODP coach.
“It was a really great experience for our team. We are always willing and able to do any volunteer work,” said LIU Post graduate women’s soccer player Kelsey Ferguson. “It was great to do something different, especially for such a worthy cause, and we would be happy to do it again in the future.”
The race honors Marianne Volpe, who passed away from Acute Lymphocitic Leukemia (ALL), an aggressive form of blood cancer, at the age of 56 in 2011.
With the counting of donations now completed, $35,000 was raised in total by the more than 500 participants, which included runners, walkers and fans.
Marianne was the wife of Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) Hall of Famer Jim Volpe, currently Eastern New York’s ODP Chairperson. Their children, Chelsea and Shaun, grew up playing in the LIJSL, then played for Manhattan College, are still involved in the game today and obviously were at this big event.
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: With over 100,000 youth soccer players–both boys and girls–and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 11 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators.
All levels of soccer are offered–from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association.
