The Kevin Dare Foundation is holding its Eighth annual Golf Tournament and Auction to benefit injured and ill student athletes on Sept. 16 at Centre Hills Country Club in State College with an 11 a.m. shotgun start.
The Kevin Dare Foundation is a non-profit, 501 3 organization, established in 2002 after the tragic death of Penn State pole vaulter and national champion Kevin Dare. He died while competing at the Big Ten Men’s Track and Field Championships, after hitting his head on the metal planting box where he had planted his pole for a jump.
Dare’s friends and family created the Kevin Dare Foundation in his honor to keep his legacy alive and to help other injured and ill student athletes. The mission of the foundation is to help these young people realize their dreams of a college degree, even after their athleticism has been taken away. The scholarships are to be used for a college or university of the student’s choice.
Samantha Russell is the executive director of the Kevin Dare Foundation.
According to Russell, the “Life … Back on Track Scholarship Program” is a great success.
“Over 45 students applied and this year we have three recipients,” she explained. “We are in the process of featuring them on our website, Facebook and Twitter over the next week. The first, Tyler Vitello, is currently posted.”
The following students are this year’s scholarship recipients:
- Cole Benovy of Hershey. He is attending Penn State’s University Park Campus and he was supported by THON. His family is a THON family. Benovy was a talented swimmer and hoped to compete in college before he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He spent over six months in the hospital and missed most of his senior year. Subsequently, he lost all hope of earning an athletic scholarship.
- Tyler Vitello of Saddle Brook, N.J., who is attending Montclair State University and hopes to become an athletic trainer. He broke his neck and injured his spinal cord during a high school football game. His story can be found by clicking HERE.
- Lynette Henshaw of Hammonton, N.J. “She won the award last year as well, and was our inaugural recipient,” said Russell. “Lynette was a district champion in the long jump and was on her way to states when she was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, called large cell anaplastic lymphoma. After over a year in and out of hospitals and stem cell treatment, she is finally in remission and will be attending St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., enrolling in the pharmacy program there. She hopes to one day have an impact in medicine.”
The Foundation tries to help the students who are not receiving scholarships in other ways, helping with things like computers and books.
The golf tournament pulls people together for fun and competition, while raising money for the scholarships, known as “Life…Back on Track Scholarships.”
The foundation is seeking contributions and sponsorships for the golf tournament and the businesses that take part will be recognized on the Kevin Dare Foundation website, and in the foundation’s end of year newsletter and donor honor roll.
The foundation is holding silent and live auctions and is currently seeking donations of items for those. A donated item, service, or certificate will go a long way to help send some deserving students go to college. Click HERE to register for the golf tournament or to donate on line.
Athlete safety and education are high on the list of goals for the Foundation.
In partnership with Penn State and Eventys, the foundation developed the first ever pole-vault specific helmet, which is also ASTM approved for snow sports. Helmets are free of charge to sports teams, club and organizations.
They also developed the first-ever “soft box” for pole vaulting. The specially designed box is comprised of material made to cushion the fall, and studies have shown its use to dramatically reduce injuries. State College Area High School will be the first high school in the country to have the box with Skydex Smarter Cushioning technology, with no effect on the vaulter’s experience.
The Kevin Dare Memorial Lounge at Penn State’s Multi-Sport Facility is a work in progress. The project, made possible by a gift from the Kevin Dare Foundation, will create a lounge for Penn State track and field athletes on the upper mezzanine area of the facility.
Another safety-minded project undertaken by the foundation was the donation of helmets to the Tyrone Youth Football and Pee Wee Leagues. After 20 years of use, those helmets were deemed unsafe.
