The inspiring story of Mount St. Joseph University freshman Lauren Hill continues to spread across the country and touch the hearts of anyone who hears it. Hill has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, but anticipates soon fulfilling her wish to play in her first college basketball game with her teammates on Nov. 2 at Xavier University’s Cintas Center.
Mount St. Joseph is now inviting NCAA members to help Hill and her cause. In an effort to raise money for The Cure Starts Now Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises funds for pediatric brain cancer research to search for the ultimate cure for cancer, all basketball teams are invited to donate a team jersey – No. 22 – to Mount St. Joseph before Oct. 30. Hill plans to sign the jerseys, which will then be auctioned off at the game. The proceeds will benefit the foundation.
Jerseys can be sent to Mount St. Joseph’s head women’s basketball coach Dan Benjamin at:
Mount St. Joseph University
5701 Delhi Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45233-1670
Net ticket proceeds from the Mount St. Joseph game against Hiram College, slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off, also will be donated to The Cure Starts Now Foundation. The school was granted a waiver to play their season opener two weeks earlier than originally scheduled in order to accommodate Hill. Due to wide public support, school administrators and the Hill family agreed to move the game to a larger venue. Even with the expanded ticket availability, the university notes on its website that the game at Xavier’s campus has already sold out.