GAINESVILLE, Fla. — They gathered Saturday morning on the UF campus for a half day of enjoyable and video games on the Climb for Cancer Foundation’s sports activities camp.

The youngsters in attendance had most cancers, have survived most cancers, or are a sibling of a most cancers affected person. That was the case for Levi, a camp attendee whose youthful sister, Annabelle, has obtained her second most cancers analysis and is unable to depart the hospital.

Levi’s mom, Sophie Dykes, defined that Levi typically doesn’t get a lot consideration as a result of his sister wants most of their mother and father’ time and power.

“This was another good thing to do with him to get him out of the hospital,” Dykes stated.

The household is from Georgia, however Annabelle is being handled right here in rival territory with the annual Florida-Georgia recreation set to kick off in three days in Jacksonville. Her mom says Levi has a lot of Georgia Bulldogs signed merchandise.

He is not sure what to do with it these days.

“He’s a Gator fan because they’re saving his sister’s life,” Dykes stated.

The Climb for Cancer occasion is a particular one on the UF calendar and provides households akin to Levi’s a respite from day-to-day life coping with the illness.

For the primary time since 2019, UF student-athletes and people households got here collectively for an array of actions at three Gators sports activities services on Saturday. Since this occasion had been dormant within the post-COVID period, everybody concerned was overjoyed to be again.

Climb for Cancer Foundation co-founder Diane Farb known as Saturday a “great new birth, if you will, of the sports camps.”



The occasion included soccer, volleyball, basketball and soccer, adopted by lunch with Gators mascots Albert and Alberta.

Ron Farb, who co-founded the group along with his spouse, watched as youngsters and UF student-athletes performed and took a break from the actual world on a nice October morning.

“You can’t even measure the impact that this makes on the children,” Ron Farb said. “To quit Saturday to return and play with the youngsters is wonderful [for the student-athletes]. We get letters again from mother and father saying, ‘My little one will always remember the time they spent with the student-athletes.’ “

When starting the Gainesville-based organization, Ron and Diane dreamed of supporting child cancer patients and their families. Ron started raising funds to do this through his hobby of climbing mountains. To date, he has climbed five of the seven summits around the globe.

Not only is this event special for the children, but it is also a humbling experience for the student-athletes.

“This is one among my favourite issues to do,” said UF track and field team member Joshua Brockman.

The Climb for Cancer experience was heartwarming for first-time attendees and those who helped organize the event.

Pierre Banks is assistant director of community development at the Hawkins Center. He works daily with UF student-athletes and organized their involvement.

“It’s good for our student-athletes to get perspective. When you’re round a bunch like this, it makes you notice how blessed you’re,” Banks stated. It adjustments you.”

 

Banks wasn’t only a bystander. He participated and shared within the smiles of the day.

“The kids, they are special people, and you would never think they were going through what they’re going through,” Banks said.

And he’s right.

The kids ran, jumped, laughed and played like they had never even stepped foot in a hospital before. The student-athletes had a blast playing sports they don’t typically play.

Gators swimmer Skip Donald ran around the football field at the Gators indoor practice facility, chasing kids trying to score.

The event stretched beyond the field for Donald.

“It provides the youngsters an opportunity to see how we work together with one another and different individuals,” he stated.

On today, everybody was on the identical crew. The teamwork was contagious.

The student-athletes know the way a lot weight their phrases and actions carry, and so they need to use them to learn the group. Climb for Cancer is a particular occasion towards that objective.

“I think as a student-athlete, it’s important to participate because we have such a strong voice in the Gator community,” stated Chloi Clark, a member of the UF gymnastics crew.

They had a captive viewers.