Charity of the Month - Feb. 09

My charity donation for this month has more of a sense of urgency/reality than in previous months. My former Etown classmate and friend Craig Anderson passed away on February 3rd, at age 22. I remember the evening he called me in the summer of '06 after I graduated, to tell me that he'd been diagnosed with testicular cancer but that he and the doctors were hopeful. He eventually had to take time off of school, and for quite some time he would send out updates about his health. Craig had returned to school for a while and I ran into him last year when I was on campus, and he was doing well at the time. I knew that he just graduated this December, something he'd worked so hard for, and I knew that he was not doing well, but I did not know how bad it truly was. He had just written on my Facebook wall the week before, ecstatic that he got his diploma personally from the president of the college - who even shared a congratulatory beer with him.

What always struck me about Craig was his ability to not be fazed by anything. Everyone was someone for Craig to befriend. Although in meeting Craig you might not peg him as the 'cool kid on campus' type of guy, everyone knew Craig and Craig knew everyone - even before he stood out because of his cancer treatment. And his get-it-done attitude was manifest in his desire to be a Peer Mentor. Despite being turned down for the position originally, he kept trying. He made the right connections, built up his skill sets, and finally met his goal. I remember the joy he expressed when he found out, and I think all who knew him shared in it!

So, my donation this month is to the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn, specifically meant for testicular cancer research in memory of Craig. You can learn more about that specific cancer at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/testicular/.