CANTON – The Canton High girls volleyball team will be at the beach on Sunday. But they won’t be playing any beach volleyball.
They’ll be walking at the Path of Hope at Hammonasset State Park in Madison to help raise funds and awareness for the fight against brain tumors. It will also celebrate those who have survived and honored those who have passed away due to the disease.
The 3.1 mile walk begins at 10:30 a.m. The Warriors will also be walking with Avon’s Morgan Platt, the young girl who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011 and had two videos go viral on You Tube. Her first video was set to Katy Perry’s hit song “Roar” and was taped at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford.
New Canton High volleyball Eileen Holden was the leader of a team that participated in the initial Path of Hope event a year ago. Her father, Kevin, passed away in May 2014 due to a brain tumor. He was a huge advocate of her coaching career. Eileen has been a long-time softball coach at New Milford High School and he was a big fan of her volleyball teams, too.
The Holden family hosted a pair of benefit softball games at New Milford to help raise awareness and money that was donated to the Connecticut Brian Tumor Alliance (CTBTA). Kevin was able to attend the first game a few weeks before he passed away.
When it came time to sign up for this year’s Path of Hope event, Holden signed up her team called “Holden It Together” but also included the Warrior volleyball team as part of the team and to continue raising awareness of the issue.
Below is Morgan’s video set to the music of Katy Perry.
There are still openings for participants. Go to the event website for additional information. You can donate to the CTBTA, donate in honor of Morgan or as part of Team Holden It Together. More than 750 participants walked in last year’s event.
Don Porter
October 3, 2015 at 7:03 am
An EXCEPTIONAL Event Conducted in an EXCEPTIONAL Way !