Soccer Team Raises $4,198 for Cardiac Research
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Seventeen players and two coaches in Goucher's men's soccer program took part in the Blue Cross Broad Street Run today to raise funds for cardiac research.
Soccer Team Raises $4,198 for Cardiac Research
17 Players, Two Coaches Participate in Broad Street Run
May 3, 2009
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Seventeen players and two coaches in
Goucher's men's soccer program took part in the Blue Cross Broad
Street Run today to raise funds for cardiac research.
For running in what is billed as the largest 10-mile race in the nation, the players and coaches received 102 donations and pledges totaling $4,198.
The Broad Street Run is organized by the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and sponsored in part by Independence Blue Cross and the Philadelphia Daily News. The team selected this event in part because of its location as many of the players came to Goucher from the greater Philadelphia area.
Raising funds to battle heart disease came to the forefront during the Gophers' 2008 season when John Dunda, the younger brother of head coach Gary Dunda, needed to have his aortic valve replaced. John’s surgery was done at the University of Pennsylvania by Dr. Joseph Bavaria, one of the foremost surgeons and researchers in the country.
Dr. Bavaria is the Vice Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Hospital
of Pennsylvania and a professor of surgery at the University of
Pennsylvania. He has been involved in numerous clinical trials for
devices that aim to make cardiac procedures faster, safer and
less-invasive. In fact, he is currently serving as a primary
investigator for a trial that is paving the way for a non-surgical,
catheter-based heart valve replacement procedure. Once approved,
this device will eliminate the need for open-heart surgery for
thousands of patients.
Persons interested in supporting the team's efforts by making a
donation to the “Dr. Bavaria Cardiac Surgery Fund” can
reach Coach Dunda at (410) 337-6400.