{"id":104549,"date":"2024-06-08T18:18:59","date_gmt":"2024-06-08T23:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=104549"},"modified":"2024-06-08T18:20:32","modified_gmt":"2024-06-08T23:20:32","slug":"digs-for-cancer-how-a-high-school-volleyball-player-raised-money-to-fight-the-disease-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/digs-for-cancer-how-a-high-school-volleyball-player-raised-money-to-fight-the-disease-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Digs for Cancer: How a high school volleyball player raised money to fight the disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Caleb Nixon
\n<\/strong>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

On a typical frigid February day, Caiden Frawley, a senior volleyball player at Notre Dame College Prep, took his usual morning walk from the street to the school after parking his car. Approaching the campus, his daily routine was consumed by a thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that the best way to give back is to take some of the money out of my pocket, that I know someone else deserves more than I do, and try to give that back to those people out there who are fighting cancer,\u201d Frawley said.<\/p>\n

The idea was spurred by the impact of cancer within the student\u2019s community. In January, one of his childhood friends lost his father to brain cancer. Before that, in February 2023, tragedy struck twice: A family member died from leukemia, and the community mourned the loss of 8-year-old Molly Morris, who battled kidney cancer. Molly was a student at Saint Monica Academy \u2013 the grammar school attended by Frawley.<\/p>\n

Frawley\u2019s volleyball coach, Peter Maniscalco, said he remembers the moment when his libero initiated this idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came up and said that he didn\u2019t want to do something as little as changing a shoelace to a pink color or writing something on his shoes that you see some guys do,\u201d Maniscalco said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said right from the start, \u2018I want it to be even more impactful to where I can feel good about it in the long run that I did my best to help multiple people.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Just weeks away from beginning his senior season, Frawley created a fundraiser page called Caiden\u2019s Digs for Cancer Research.<\/em>\u00a0The coach and the libero agreed that for every defensive dig \u00a0Frawley recorded this season, they would donate $1 toward the fundraiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say I was shocked, but I was more impressed,\u201d Maniscalco said. \u201cCaiden is someone that I would expect to do that and put others first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frawley\u2019s mother recalls the day when Caiden returned home from school and told her about the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first I was a little skeptical. I was like, \u2018Oh, OK, is it really going to work? Are you thinking it through?\u2019\u201d she said. After seeing the fundraiser page, she realized the importance of the idea. \u201cThis is the first time he\u2019s taken initiative to start something on his own, but he\u2019s always had ideas and wants to help people.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the American Cancer Society, Illinois is sixth in the U.S. for new cancer cases thus far in 2024. Kiyoko Czech, a senior development manager and ACS local representative, explained fundraisers are especially valuable in the youth environment.<\/p>\n