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Registration Open for the Bashaw Fund Bowlathon

Feb 14, 2013 5:01 pm

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St. Albans (January 31, 2013)– Registration is now open for the 22nd annual Bowlathon to benefit Northwestern Medical Center’s Jim Bashaw Cancer & Catastrophic Illness Fund. The striking event will be held on Saturday, March 16 at the St. Albans Bowling Center, featuring two sessions of bowling, one in the afternoon and one in the early evening.

Jim Bashaw was a beloved teacher, guidance counselor and longtime girls’ basketball coach at BFA St. Albans. His death in August of 2000 from brain cancer affected not only his family and friends, but the entire community. In honor of Jim’s memory, a fund was established to provide financial assistance to residents of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties who are experiencing catastrophic illness from cancer or other causes.

More than 700 grants have been awarded over the years, totaling $305,000 in support to Franklin and Grand Isle County residents, according to Olivia Laporte, Northwestern Medical Center’s Oncology Case Manager. Last year, 83 grants were awarded, continuing Jim’s kind and charitable ways.

Laporte says that grants are given for a wide range of needs. The bulk of grants support the high costs of medication and transportation. “Transportation to care is something that people don’t always think about,” says Laporte. “But, when patients are driving back and forth between Richford and St. Albans several times per week for treatment, they realize very quickly how the costs add up. That’s the kind of situation the Bashaw Fund can help with.”

During the 2012 event, 136 bowlers on 26 teams raised more than $13,000 to support the Jim Bashaw Cancer & Catastrophic Illness Fund, and organizers are hoping for another successful event this year. “It really is a fun, easy way to make a really big difference to a lot of people,” says Laporte. “Teams have been really creative with their names and team shirts. We have free pizza and cookies to go around, and some fun prizes too.”

Session One will bowl from 2 to 4 pm; check-in at 1:30 pm. Session Two will bowl from 5-7 pm; check-in at 4:30 pm. Registration is open until March 1st. For more information or to register your team, please contact Olivia Laporte at 524-8479 or olaporte@nmcinc.org.