Buck Hill hosts inaugural cancer fundraising event on the slopes in honor of late employee
BURNSVILLE, Minn. — The Buck Hill slopes played host to "Carve for a Cure" on Sunday, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It is the first time the Burnsville ski area has hosted this event.
"I've always wanted to do something like this, and when I found out that Buck Hill was doing this, I was really excited," said Chris Kalaytowicz, a snowboarder, who participated in this event.
It felt extra meaningful for Kalaytowicz to be a part of this event as a cancer survivor.
"I'm a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor. I was diagnosed in 2009, and I finished chemo in 2011," said Kalaytowicz.
Each participant in "Carve for a Cure" raises $150 and the money is used to fund cancer research and help patients.
"I like to give back. I help out with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society events, St. Jude [Children's Research Hospital] and a bunch of other ones," said Kalaytowicz.
This is a cause that hits close to home for the staff at Buck Hill as well. They lost one of their own, Justin Linde, to leukemia last summer. He was only 33 years old.
Many people who participated in this event felt a personal pull to be involved, like Eric Will.
"Six months ago my son Colton, who is 4 years old, was diagnosed with MPAL, it's two types of leukemia mixed together," said Will.
Will is a manager at the Bloomington-based company Hero Home Services, which is the main sponsor of the "Carve for a Cure" event.
"Hero has been amazing at working with us and working around the appointments, so when we found out about this, it was a no-brainer to get involved," said Will.
Everyone skiing and snowboarding for this cause is also sending a message to fighters, like Colton.
"That you're not alone, and people are here behind you and love you and support you," said Will.
Buck Hill says it raised over $7,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society during Sunday's event. It plans to make it an annual fundraiser.
