Road of Life gives graduate shot at fund-raising for a cause

Testimonials

“All the lessons in the After School Program were easy to use and integrate into our current programs. The kids loved learning lessons while enjoying the activities; the facilitators loved the user-friendly content. After using Road of Life’s programs, the children experienced an increase in knowledge through education, a change in attitude through awareness and exposure, and a change in behavior through action and performance.”

– Lisa Palmer, Executive Director for the Olde Southside Community Partnership

“We support Road of Life because of its great work against a dreadful disease. We believe that ROL will impact the knowledge of health for children everywhere.”

– Jack Staph, Executive Director of the Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K

“We are confident that the Road of Life Program will help improve the knowledge and build awareness of health for children in Cleveland.”

– Eileen Korey, Vice President of Communications at The MetroHealth System

“Road of Life’s innovative programs have a very important role to play in keeping some of America’s most at-risk communities healthy.”

– Laurel Shoaff-Tranick, Program Manager for the Corporation for National and Community Service

“Road of Life focuses on educating children on fitness, nutrition, and overall good decision making that will lead to healthier lives and greatly reduce the risk of developing cancer later in life. We recognize the work that ROL is doing and we want to help ROL create an Adolescent and Young Adult specific program to expand ROL’s program to this age group. We look forward to working with ROL..."

– John J. Letterio, M.D., Chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital

“I am a very strong advocate of the Road of Life: Cancer Prevention for Kids program and the innovative work they have done with Columbus Public Schools.”

– Andrew Ginther, Columbus City Council (Former Columbus Public School Board Member)

“Road of Life is a unique and exciting organization. ROL takes the idea of cancer prevention a few steps further and tries to establish good lifestyle choices and habits with children, long before they are potentially faced with a cancer diagnosis. I believe in ROL because of their unique ability to pull resources from different sources, such as the medical community, the public health community, and the education community.”

– Sharon E. Kim, Clinical Research Coordinator at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

“I believe the ROL program is a worthy effort that will make a positive difference in the lives of children.”

– Karen L. Gilliam, Ph.D. Manager of the Office of Diversity at The MetroHealth System

“By providing this information to children, we are teaching them that they are not only responsible for their personal health but in the future they can choose to be responsible for helping others become healthier. The sheer diversity of each curriculum demonstrates ROL’s ability to solve the main problem of chronic illness.”

– Denisha E. Garland, MPH, SIT with the Cincinnati Health Department

“This program is easy for our teachers to integrate the curricula in their classrooms. Due to the fact that the classroom curriculum is aligned to National Health Standards as well as State Academic Standards, teachers do not have to veer away from teaching the required core academic subjects of math, English language arts, social studies, and science.”

– Mary G. Maul, Principal of Scranton K-8 School in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in OH

“In the past, I have always had a difficult time incorporating a health curriculum into the classroom. With so many standards to meet in the core subjects like Math, Reading, and Writing, Health curriculums often get pushed to the side. However, the Road of Life health curriculum has changed that in my classroom.”

– Kimberly Frank, 4^th grade teacher at Tanque Verde Elementary School in Tucson, AZ

“I was speechless when I came across the Road of Life website. I am thrilled that the lessons are available to our school for free. The lessons are extremely interactive, encouraging all students to participate. They also cross several subject areas, not just health.”

– Agatha Kusenda, Guidance Counselor at Brainerd Baptist School in Chattanooga, TN

“Road of Life improves the health knowledge of all students that are involved in the program. We even featured their work in the College’s Annual Report Magazine.”

– Lori Bolton, Assistant Director for the Practice Education and Career Services in The Ohio State University College of Public Health

Road of Life gives graduate shot at fund-raising for a cause

Written by Washington News

Friday, 01 August 2003 00:00

It wasn't exactly the career opportunity Dustin Growick, 23, had been working toward as he studied for his bachelor's in anthropology at Ohio State University.

Instead of studying ancient organisms or the theories behind human evolution, the Thomas Worthington graduate finds himself stepping forward in the fight against cancer.

After college roommate Robert Emrich co-founded the non-profit cancer research and prevention organization Road of Life, Growick rolled up his sleeves to pitch in. Now Growick serves as the organization's head of fund-raising to try and stunt the growth of the disease.

"I really wanted to do something where at the end of the day I know I made a difference," Growick said. "I thought this was a great way to get an introduction to the business world and to obviously get involved."

The organization was founded in memory of Emrich's sister Keren, who died of cancer. It serves as an extension to the Keren Rebecca Emrich Cancer Research Foundation. For the last 6 months Growick has been working to help grow the one and a half year old organization by fostering the Bicentennial 5K set to being 10:30 a.m. Sept. 28 at OSU's Ohio Stadium.

The fund-raising event will follow a 17-day solo walk by Emrich. He's going from Cincinnati to Cleveland to help raise money for cancer research and prevention - the founding principles of Road of Life. The walk has been recognized by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission and will cover a 312-mile span.

Emrich encourages well-wishers to jump on the organization's web site at www.roadoflife.org to dedicate a mile in memory of a loved one who battled cancer. Though he isn't expecting all donations to come as a result of dedications, Emrich said every dollar will count.

"The walk is my way to help fight cancer," Emrich said. "Over the course of the walk I want to spread the message of cancer awareness."

Aside from monetary donations, Emrich said there are many other ways people can get involved. He and his crew are working on an educational outreach program for school-age children by creating and implementing a Web-interactive curriculum offering information on the disease.

Included in the program will be the opportunity to follow along with Emrich's walk. He said he hopes to saturate school districts that are under-served when it comes to cancer education and said he hopes teachers from all over will get involved. While the organization is working toward a more cushy budget to dive further into their research endeavors, Growick said their efforts will make a difference for future generations.

"You can usually make something good happen," Growick said. "It's education on what people can do to prevent cancer. There's always opportunities to help here."

For more information on Road of Life or how to get involved in the Bicentennial 5K, go to the website or call 221-1235.

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