“Spirit Against Cancer” Supports Kanzius
Annual competition benefits Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation for first time
The eighth annual Spirit Against Cancer dance and cheer competition will be held this Saturday, Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Junker Center at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. Proceeds from this year’s regional competition will be donated to the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation in memory of Becky Hubler Decker.
Hosted by the athletics department at Penn State Behrend, Spirit Against Cancer was created in memory of Hubler Decker, a dance coach at the college who lost her battle with melanoma skin cancer in 2001. Prior to her position at Penn State Behrend, Hubler Decker served as a cheerleading coach at Edinboro University, was captain of the Invaderettes, the dance team for the National Indoor Football League’s former Erie Invaders, and was a member of the Buffalo Bills’ Jills dance team.
“Spirit Against Cancer has always been supported by dance and cheer teams from throughout the Erie region and Becky was so committed to the Erie community. This year, we want to support this local cause to fight cancer in Becky’s honor,” said Stacy Pondo, assistant to the director of athletics.
Since its inception in 2001, Spirit Against Cancer has raised more than $45,000, all of which has been donated to the American Cancer Society. Penn State Behrend hopes to bring the events’ grand total to more than $50,000 this year.
Fifty dance and cheerleading teams from Pennsylvania and New York, including middle school, junior high, junior varsity, high school varsity, college, and all-star squads, plus private dance studios, will participate in Saturday’s competition.
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a comprehensive residential college offering 34 bachelor’s, six associate, four pre-professional and two graduate degree programs with 22 minors to more than 4,600 students. Focused on providing a student-centered environment, Penn State Behrend connects its students to a major research and land-grant institution on a campus enriched by more than 110 clubs and organizations, 21 NCAA varsity teams and 19 intramural sports. Penn State Behrend is named in recognition of a donation by Mary Behrend, widow of Ernst Behrend, who founded the Hammermill Paper Co. in Erie in 1898. The Behrend family lived on the 400-acre Glenhill Farm, which is the core of the Penn State Behrend campus today. For more information, visit behrend.psu.edu.