News

Figure Skaters Raise $30 thousand for the Foundation

BY Courtney Leach, Web Copywriter

Fort Wayne, Indiana (August 27, 2010) — Held every summer at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Skate for Hope brings national and Olympic champions together on a stage with amateur performers. United on the crystal-colored, cool platform, they are all there to skate with someone in mind.

Since its inaugural show in the summer of 2004, Skate for Hope has raised more than $293,000 for breast cancer research, $80,000 of which has gone directly to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer. This year alone, the event raised $60,000 total with half going to the Foundation. Skate for Hope – which raises funds primarily through donations – enlisted 120 cast members, 2,800 audience members and more than 50 volunteers at the 2010 show, nearly double the previous year’s statistics across the board. “Every Skate for Hope is fun and inspiring to me,” Carolyn Bongirno, the event's founder and organizer, said, “but this year was outstanding as the show went off technically without a hitch. Many of the cast were alum so things just ran so smoothly.”

Skating for Hope
While it takes much talent to skate competitively, it also takes grace. Grace presents itself in different forms, both pronounced and humble. It can be seen in commitment, in compassion and in personal reflection. It can be a snapshot of a moment where someone’s intentions shift to a greater cause, to change.

Carolyn Bongrino personifies grace. In 1999, Bongirno was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. Four years later, she found herself sitting in her baby girl’s nursery, sweetly rocking her and reflecting on a hard-fought journey to remission. It was a personal moment of revelation; a snapshot of grace, in which Bongirno decided that she wanted to do something to contribute to the research that saved her life.

After deliberating for some time about what she could do to help, Bongirno called upon her passion for skating and settled into the idea of directing and coordinating an ice show to raise funds. “[Ice] skating has always been a great source of joy and inspiration and has helped me deal with some of the greatest challenges in my life,” she said. “It has taught me many lessons about the inevitable falls we will take in our lives and how we must always get up and try again.”

Skating for a Cure
According to Bongirno, it takes more courage than talent to organize a successful fundraiser. “Skate for Hope began as a dream to help me overcome and heal my soul from my own experience with cancer,” she recalls. But, after four years of calling on donations and enlisting the help of volunteers, the rewards would be much farther reaching.

Heidi Floyd, breast cancer survivor and Foundation Development Ambassador for the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer, attends the event regularly. “Skate for Hope continues its climb to the very pinnacle of fundraising events,” Floyd said. “The people that participate, be they cancer survivors or Olympic athletes, are doing so with their whole hearts. Johnny Weir donated his incredible talent this year for the first time, and just days after losing a family member to cancer. That kind of commitment, compassion and camaraderie is why this so much more than just another ice show. Emily Hughes attends every year in honor of her mother, a cancer survivor and passionate fundraiser herself.”

The coordinator feels a sense of pride when she reflects on the message the evening sends to those touched by the disease. “[I am proud that] it empowers young children to better cope when a cancer diagnosis affects someone they love.” Another highlight for Bongirno this year, seeing all of the show’s headliners perform a finale number to the song, “One.” The event in its entirety generates an awareness and spirit of optimism that fills even the highest points of the coliseum. In the future, Bongirno would like to expand Skate for Hope into more cities to raise even more money for breast cancer research, an endeavor alums of the production will likely help champion.

“The fact that the crews, staff and stars all go out after the show to spend even more time enjoying each other’s company really speaks to Carolyn herself,” Floyd said. “Carolyn is a survivor, mom, skater and dear friend to so many. I would say that that the chance to get to know someone like Carolyn is well worth the price of admission.”

At the conclusion of each performance, there’s a moment when the music fades and each cast member – both local and professional – presents a survivor with a single rose. It’s a snapshot of hope; of compassion; of joy. And certainly, above all, it’s a moment of grace.