World-class talent has graced the ice of the Bright Hockey Center in Allston, Massachusetts for years now, during the annual figure skating exhibition, An Evening with Champions. Founded in 1970 at Harvard University, the exhibition stems from an organization of the same name. An Evening with Champions is a public charity non-profit committee that raises money to battle cancer with the Jimmy Fund, the fundraising arm of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
"We are very thankful to the national and Olympic figure skaters and all the stalwart Harvard students who have volunteered their time to make this event a success year after year," said Suzanne Fountain, Vice President, The Jimmy Fund. "We are extraordinarily grateful to them for making a difference in the fight against cancer."
An Evening with Champions was founded by U.S. men's silver medalist John Misha Petkevich after he spent time visiting the Children's Memorial Hospital in Brookline. He felt the urge to contribute when he became familiar with the story of a cancer-stricken young boy. An Evening with Champions is now entering its 49th year and has raised over a whopping $3 million.
Not only does the cast include world-class skaters, but it also features local skaters as well as former patients of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Molly Malone, a former patient, will be returning to skate in the show this fall.
"I was overjoyed to be asked to skate in An Evening With Champions for the first time in 2017 and I am thrilled to be skating in it for my third consecutive year," Molly explained. In 2016, Malone was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma. She began skating at the age of four and actively competed until the age of fifteen, when she was diagnosed with cancer.
"I have received an overwhelming amount of support from the skating community every year that I have participated in the show, and I am honored to partake in an event so close to my heart," said Malone.
Skating is an escape for her, a chance to forget the world. "There were times that cancer made me feel like my life was over, but truly, it was just beginning. I am reminded of this every time I skate." Malone is now three years cancer free and pursuing a degree in interrelated media at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. "I don't know exactly what the future holds for me, but I am very excited to find out!"
"Since 1970, An Evening with Champions has been dedicated to fighting cancer by raising money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute," said Suzanne Fountain, Vice President, The Jimmy Fund. And it will continue to do so. The 49th annual An Evening with Champions will be held at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center at Harvard University on September 20th and 21st at 7:30pm. Tickets go on sale in July 2019. For more information visit their
website.
