Every September, students sulk with the idea of going back to school. However, in Hauppauge, the sulking quickly comes to an end as soon as the date for Kicks 4 Cancer approaches. This year, October 3 hosted the town’s event, filling the day with pink in every form possible. “Say it, fight it, cure it!” sings through the hallways as the schools Kicks 4 Cancer fight song.
The boys and girls varsity soccer teams played in their annual pink games, the boys at 4:00p.m. and the girls at 6:00p.m. against Westhampton. Both teams came out on top and let up zero goals for the other teams.
Leading up to Kicks 4 Cancer, the school district has a “spirit week” to garner more excitement for the event. Students dress up daily according to different themes throughout the week. The final day, Kicks 4 Cancer, is Pink Out. Everyone wears as much pink as possible, including spray painted hair and pink stickers. The soccer teams have their own pink uniforms for the event, and they continue wearing them throughout the month of October.
The tradition of Kicks 4 Cancer in Hauppauge began in 2008 to honor and support Courtney Tomkin, a beloved Hauppauge High School student diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of seventeen.
Courtney was a junior in high school when she was diagnosed and passed away just shy of a year later. She was known to be a beautiful person inside and out, who had positive charm and resilient character.
In 2008, Kicks 4 Cancer was born as a way to support Courtney and her family throughout their fight. Courtney’s friend, Alexis Gonzalez and the Varsity Girls Soccer coach, Jessica Kulesa came up with the idea.
Gonzalez confided in her coach, Kulesa, who is also a Hauppauge ’97 alum and the girls’ varsity soccer coach for 17 seasons, about her friend’s cancer.
“It all started in the summer of 2008. Courtney was just recently diagnosed,” Kulesa told The Messenger last year. “Alexis had come to me, and she said she wanted to help out their family because she was very close with Courtney. This was right around the time where professional teams did pink games, and I thought it would be pretty cool if our team did that. Those two ideas came together during our conversation.”
In 2008, the school hosted its first Kicks 4 Cancer, resulting in an overwhelming turnout and raising $30,000.
“That was the first year and it was nice because she was there to experience it. We hold that close to our hearts because she was able to see how people, and how her community supported her,” Alexis Gonzalez told The Messenger last year about the first Kicks 4 Cancer in 2008.
“That fall, she ran out onto the field facing an uphill battle,” said Daryle Tomkin, Courtney’s father, in 2008. “You wouldn’t have guessed by the big smile on her face as she greeted her teammates in the middle of the field. It was the day her friends and this community stood by her side and developed ‘Kicks for Cancer.’ This community was a place she loved to call her home. ‘Kicks for Cancer’ meant the world to Courtney and to us, her family. Courtney was brave and courageous beyond her years, and she knew that her time here was going to be cut short. We are all put to Earth for our lifetime for however many years it is. For Courtney it was a life that had hardly begun, but that’s not how she described it. For Courtney ‘it was 17 great years.’ Our daughter, your sister, your friend, your student, taught us to look at the world through better eyes; to take time to enjoy life’s simple joys. She set about creating special and memorable moments. She made every day count. ‘Kicks for Cancer’ allowed her to see just how much love she was going to take with her. Courtney’s life ended on December 13, 2008, but she left us a lifetime of fond moments, precious memories and so much love. Our life as a family will be forever changed and our hearts broken for having lost a daughter and a sister as special as Courtney. We take pride in knowing however, that her life meant something to all of you who share in this event. So we wish to thank you for making this event in honor of Courtney, and for loving her and missing her as much as we do. Courtney was so proud of the Hauppauge Girls Varsity Soccer Team. Their love, generosity and friendship were unbelievable and meant the world to her. We hope that Kicks 4 Cancer continues to grow, that the proceeds will benefit other children suffering the terrible tragedy of cancer, and that someday this charitable event will help in finding a cure.”
Now, fifteen years later, Kicks 4 Cancer is still going strong raising money for cancer research in Courtney’s memory. Proceeds of the event are given to the Making Headway Foundation, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, and Make-A-Wish amongst many more.
“I can tell the event is garnering even more speed,” says a Hauppauge community member, and mom of four children in Hauppauge schools.
Since the event’s beginning, Kicks 4 Cancer has raised almost half a million dollars, $457,161, for cancer research and other related organizations. This year’s event is estimated to have surpassed that half million number.
Townships surrounding Hauppauge have found inspiration in their tradition and started their own Kicks 4 Cancer events to raise money for cancer research. A total of forty-one teams throughout Suffolk County now participate through the Suffolk County Girls Soccer Coaches Association.
“With Courtney’s spirit with us and the amazing efforts by many of Long Island’s soccer student-athletes, parents, educational and local communities alike, the Kicks 4 Cancer fundraiser has turned into a collaborative effort (headed by Coach Kulesa and the Hauppauge School Soccer Program along with contributing teams and communities of the Suffolk County Girls Soccer Coaches Association (SCGSCA)) and has raised approximately $875,000 since 2008 for numerous Cancer Organizations and Local Families in need of help due to this illness and the hardships it brings,” reports the SCGSCA.
The community pride is palpable on and off the pitch. At Kicks 4 Cancer, everyone is proud to be a “Hauppaugian”.
