Community Rallies to Support Local Boys and Brain Tumor Research

Drake High School students, Ross Valley residents and local merchants are rallying behind two brothers from San Anselmo that have been diagnosed with brain tumors in the past three years with a Fighting for the Cure relay that will take place, Saturday, April 21 from 1-5 p.m. at Drake High School.

Zach (23) and Spencer (20) Greene are doing well now, but the future for brain tumor survivors is filled with risks.

Zach and Spencer Greene

Zach (Drake '07) and Spencer ('09) were born and raised in San Anselmo and went to Brookside Elementary, Whitehill and Drake High School. They were active in sports and played soccer and tennis at Drake.

Both boys were diagnosed with Oligodendroglioma (Oligo) brain tumors in the past three and a half years and have undergone surgery and chemotherapy.

Drake  High  School's Fighting  for  the  Cure  

Drake High School's student-run club, Fighting for the Cure — stated by junior Emma Richman— is dedicated to increasing awareness and raising money for medical research to improve cancer treatments and outcomes.

Emma's family, like so many of her classmates', has been touched by cancer and she knows that finding cures will be one of her generation's greatest challenges.

In their inaugural year, they are raising money for Oligo brain tumor research.

"My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was ten," Emma says. "For many years I knew I wanted to do something, but I wasn't sure what. What I didn know what that I wanted to make a difference."

According to Drake junior Mitch Young, "there needed to be a call to arms. This is a way for us to come together and make a difference by raising awareness and money to find cures." 

The  Event

The Fighting for the Cure relay will take place on Saturday, April 21, from 1-5 p.m. at Drake High School

It will allow Drake students, faculty and parents to walk or run, individually or as teams. The goal is to raise more than $20,000 for Oligo research and awareness. 

It will be an event with food, yoga, music and other activities. Drake students are working to make sure that the event is fun for the participants, while at the same time raising money.

In addition to the relay, individuals and local businesses are supporting the event with donations, services and fundraising events of their own.

The Yoga Lab in Fairfax will be contributing all class fees for the weekend of the event and will be also at the event to lead yoga activities.

A number of restaurants (including Iron Springs, Bolinas 123, and Il Davide) are donating 10-15 percent of receipts from one night the week of the event.  

Research  Initiative

Zach  &  Spencer’s  father,  Brock,  discovered  there  was  little funding for brain tumors  and  close  to  zero  funding  for research  into  Oligo  brain tumors. Working  with  the  National Brain  Tumor  Society  he  started  a research  fund for  Oligo  and has  raised  $300,000  in  the  past  8  months by reaching  out to  friends  and  family. But  Brock  knows  there  is  so much more  to  do.

“The  outpouring  of  support  and  the  generosity  of  our  friends and neighbors has  been  amazing. This  encouraged  me  to  try to  get  more  of our community  involved.”  While  he  had  never been  involved  in  fundraising before,  he  now  sees  that  many people,  whether  they  know  his  family well or  not,  are  moved to  help.  That  is  one  of  the  reasons  he  has  high hopes for  this  community-­‐wide  effort.  

Both  Zach and Spencer have been involved the fundraising in general as well as Fighting for the Cure. Zach helped the club throughout the  Fall while he was home working on graduate school applications, working with  NBTS to build the web site and working with Drake’s Principal to get the event approved by the school district.    

Both Spencer and Zach have made presentations to classes at Drake to build support for the event. Being a child of the sixties, Brock thinks about the slogan “if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem” when he looks at what is happening with Fighting for the Cure.    

Each of the these students has determined that they want to be part of the solution to a huge problem and it gives him hope for the future—for his boys and for our society.   

To visit the Fighting for the Cure website: www.braintumorcommunity.org/fftc   

For  more  information:  Please contact Brock  Greene brockg@comcast.net  (415) 254-­‐1950

Note: The beautiful logo for Fighting for the Cure was designed and donated by renowned graphic artist and San Anselmo resident Michael Schwab.