Gamma Phi Beta is taking breast cancer to the mat.

The Syracuse University sorority will fight breast cancer — peacefully — at its first Yogathon on Feb. 27. To raise awareness and prevention efforts for the disease, Gamma Phi will host two discounted yoga classes for students taught by instructors from the university.

Orange U Yoga will hold sessions from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. in Room 500 of the Hall of Languages. Tickets will be sold Tuesday at the Schine Student Center for $7 and at the door the day of the event for $9. All of the money raised will benefit the Libby Ross Breast Cancer Foundation.

The foundation was established in 1999 in memory of Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Ross by Libby’s close friend Maria Willner and daughter Lori Ross, according to the foundation’s website. Libby died from breast cancer in 1998, and the foundation aims to make a difference in the lives of women afflicted with breast cancer through unique support programs, such as through yoga, according to the website.

Orange U Yoga’s coordinator Rachel Brenner is a family friend of co-founder Lori Ross, who Brenner said approached her about helping with the organization.

‘We had been discussing the financial difficulties her organization was having, so she asked me if I could think of anything we could do to get back on the map,’ said Brenner, a senior television, radio and film major, in an e-mail.

With many student organizations and greek life at SU, Brenner said she thought a college campus was the perfect place to hold an event.

‘I also thought that college students have this amazing belief that they can change the world, which could lead to large numbers of participants,’ Brenner said.

The foundation has provided a lot for women in the past, including all-expenses-paid yoga retreats, she said. Yoga is a popular activity among college women, so Brenner felt it was appropriate to use it for Gamma Phi’s fundraiser.

The goal of the event is to raise money, Brenner said, but it isn’t the prime objective.

‘We want to put young people into action to help fight this disease,’ she said.

Sarah McCarthy, a senior public relations major and event participant, said she is close to cancer already because she dealt with cancer in her immediate family and helped a friend deal with her mother’s breast cancer battle.

‘Cancer is a very important cause for me because my brother Jeremiah has been battling brain cancer for nine years this upcoming May,’ she said in an e-mail. ‘I try to participate in fundraisers that help any type of cancer.’

Brenner said she hopes to expand the program to 16 other universities nationwide, and the support she received from her sorority sisters blew her away. 

She said: ‘We have all come together to use our individual talents to make this happen.’

mjberner@syr.edu

Published on February 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Maddy: mjberner@syr.edu