THANK YOU!

Congratulations and thanks to the Bergenfield, NJ high school basketball community for a successful Hoops 4 Hope fundraising and awareness event on December 19.

The high school basketball community came together recently to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research, while getting in some early-season games.

The Dec. 19 Hoops 4 Hope Challenge was dedicated to Dr. Steven J. Kaminsky, a principal in the Bergenfield district, who succumbed to the disease this past April.

Bergenfield coach Erik Olson is the person that set up the tournament. Olson worked for Kaminsky while he was principal at Lincoln School.

"He was the greatest mentor I ever could have asked for," Olson said "We connected. We both lived for the moment and to be positive to people; to look out for the best interests of the whole. Our team wanted to work for the treatment and the cure while working hard for Dr. K."

LUSTGARTEN FOUNDATION

The funds raised will go to The Lustgarten Foundation, founded in 1998 with the help of Cablevision, in honor of Marc Lustgarten, a Cablevision executive who died from pancreatic cancer.

"Marc Lustgarten taught with Steven [Kaminsky]," said Kaminsky's widow, Janet. "In 1968 he quit to become a lawyer and went on to work for a 'start-up' company called Cablevision."

She added that it is necessary that the funds are sent directly to The Lustgarten Foundation, to ensure that the money goes for pancreatic cancer research.

"If you give to the cancer general fund there is not an even distribution," she said. "Pancreatic cancer is on the bottom even though it is the fourth leading cause of death from cancer."

curePC

According to Cablevision's website, in late 2008, Cablevision and The Lustgarten Foundation together launched curePC, a public awareness campaign in support of the fight against pancreatic cancer.

As part of this campaign, Cablevision made a multi-year commitment to underwrite all of The Lustgarten Foundation's administrative costs to ensure that 100 percent of every dollar donated to the Foundation goes directly to pancreatic cancer research. Today, the Foundation is the nation's largest private supporter of pancreatic cancer research.

Olson said that after Kaminsky was diagnosed the team said they wanted to do something in order to "give back."

"He was a Bergenfield person," Olson said. "We wanted to have a good event for the girls and the community. The No. 1 priority is to give back and be thankful for what you have. Melanie [Eskin] (a senior captain on the team) asked if there was something we could do. The event was planned before he passed. We knew it would probably be in his memory. Any day I can do something to preserve his memory is a good day for me."

LOTS OF HELP

Olson got a lot of help from his team in getting the tournament up and running. In addition to Eskin, the Miranda twins, Stephanie and Vicky, were instrumental in taking care of some of the details.

"Mel (Eskin) was the mastermind," Stephanie said. "She asked us to help. We met, exchanged ideas. We wanted to do something nice. He (Kaminsky) was a great guy - everyone says so."

Vicky worked with the graphics department at BHS to produce the program, which, she admits, "took a long time."

"We had an idea what teams we wanted [in order] to have good games," Vicky added. "Olson got the teams."
Olson invited Holy Angels, New Milford, Old Tappan, Park Ridge, Pascack Valley, Ramapo, River Dell, Rutherford and Tenafly to participate in the tournament. All were happy to take part.

"Erik called us and asked us to get involved," said Old Tappan coach Brian Dunn. "They did so much for us in previous events that we wanted to help out. I love that basketball is part of it. It turns it into something beneficial, which is great."

"Getting invited to this is an honor, a great compliment," said Pascack Valley coach Jeff Jasper, who will host a tournament for juvenile diabetes and autism later this season. "It is a privilege to be here. It's a good basketball situation and a great opportunity to give back. All causes are just. Everybody has difficulties. Asking the basketball community to pitch in for any cause shows the kids and the community that there is more to this than bounce passes, blocking out and jump shots."

'IT MEANS A LOT'

Some of those involved have a special reason to want to participate. New Milford coach Mike Kilgallen's father died of cancer shortly after Mike was named coach at Midland Park, his first head coaching assignment.

"We are thrilled to be part of such a great thing," Kilgallen said. "It's great to come together and use this game as a vehicle to get the word out that pancreatic cancer research needs funds. It's such an honor to be here with the high school basketball community of coaches and teams."

"I love that it means a lot," said Old Tappan senior Abbey Fallon. "My grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. (She is all right now).

It makes everyone aware of what is going on outside of our little world. Cancer is a big deal."
The tournament was a great success and at press time the proceeds are still being counted. The team plans to make it an annual event and getting teams to come back should be easy to accomplish.

"We are playing here and at Park Ridge Jan. 8 for breast cancer awareness," said River Dell coach Lou Wejnert. "We normally play two [tournaments] a year. The kids are pretty tuned into this, what they are doing and why. They realize cancer strikes anyone at anytime."

"It was nice that everyone came out to support this great cause," Stephanie Miranda said. "It was a great thing to have here. We want to make it nice going forward. We want to keep it a success."