By Skye Tulio
Sports Assignment Editor
While most of the Bonaventure community slept, a group of Bonnies rose early last Saturday morning, inspired by the life of one brave little boy.
SBU Strength and Conditioning coach Darryn Fiske began participating in the Great Strides: Taking Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis Walk with his family in 2007, honoring his nephew, Andrew, who was born with the debilitating disease.
“Before he was born, we found out he had Cystic Fibrosis, and we did a lot of research online about it,” Fiske said. “We found out there was a benefit, a Great Strides Walk in Ellicottville, and so my family and I decided to attend it. They did a great job and generated a lot of money, mostly through corporate sponsorship.”
Fiske felt the attendance at the Ellicottville walk could have been higher and that inspired him and his family to start their own walk in Salamanca, NY, where they reside.
“We thought we could raise more awareness and make it more of an event, so we got together and contacted the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Western New York,” Fiske said. “We told them we were interested in putting on a Great Strides event, and it has just basically taken off from there.”
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that affects both the lungs and digestive system. According to the Great Strides official website, about 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed each year and more than 70 percent of those patients are diagnosed by age two. The predicted median age of survival for a person with cystic fibrosis is late 30s.
This past Saturday, Fisk and his family hosted their 7th annual walk joined by 100 members of the St. Bonaventure Athletic Department, including athletes from the university’s various sports teams. Fiske and his team registered as “The Wolfpack,” and raised a total 0f $5,000 for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The entire event raised $35,000 for the cause.
“It’s our largest total ever,” Fiske said. “We don’t have a lot a corporate sponsorship. We’re little tiny Salamanca, NY, so all the money we’re generating is coming from people going out on their own and making donations. I think that’s what makes it successful because it’s not a corporate setting. It’s about people coming together and generating revenue for a cause.”
Eventually the walk grew to an annual event within both the community surrounding Salamanca and the SBU athletic department, according to Fiske
“Our walk is maybe about a mile-and-a-half to two miles, and it’s really to generate revenue and raise awareness,” Fiske said. “That’s what it is all it’s about; it’s nothing competitive. There are so many walks out there for March of Dimes and the different types of cancer, and we wanted to be able to make it into a fun event people would look forward to.”
The one-day event also included raffles, music and food for its participants to enjoy. Members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams, men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, women’s soccer team and men’s lacrosse team were present to help raise awareness.
Fiske said he first thought of the idea to include the SBU Athletic Department as a way to attract more people to the event.
“Let’s face it, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies are the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Sabres of the Southern Tier,” Fiske said. “It’s the most recognizable name in this part of the state, so I thought if word got out that St. Bonaventure’s athletes were going to be there, it would draw more people—which it did. Now, I don’t even have to ask the athletes.”
Redshirt men’s basketball senior guard, Michael Davenport is a fifth year veteran of Fiske’s walk.
“It’s always a good cause doing that for Coach Fiske’s nephew,” Davenport said. “It’s really taking an hour or two out of your morning to do something for a little kid. You see that disease in him, but it doesn’t define him as a person. Especially watching him grow up with that disease over the years and seeing that he hasn’t changed.”
A tradition that began with just the men’s and women’s basketball teams has grown to almost every Bonaventure team either participating in the walk or donating to the cause. Fiske said he wanted to stress to the athletes that outside of the Bona Bubble is the real world and people with real needs.
“I think it really opens their eyes as to what kind of causes are out there and how they can actually have a positive impact on the world around them,” Fiske said.
Fiske said he hopes to reach out to the rest of the Bonaventure community in the future and encourage them to support the cause.
“I try to get it on the SBU website as soon as possible,” Fiske said. “I can probably do a better job of promoting it to the extended community, and I will probably do something of that nature for next year.”
Some teams were unable to participate in the walk due to athletic competitions, but this did not stop its members from contributing to the cause.
“Baseball, as a team, got together and collected a whole bunch of money,” Fiske said. “The softball girls and a couple cross country kids donated in addition to alumni from our athletic programs donating online.”
Every year, Fiske’s walk receives po sitive feedback from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation due to its large number of participants.
“If our athletes weren’t there, we’d still have a couple hundred people there,” Fiske said. “With our athletes there, we had about 300-400 people, so it brings awareness, but we’ve made it from a walk to an event and I think that’s what they’re seeing.”
Davenport said he never thought twice when Fiske asked him to participate in the walk because Fiske has done so much for him and the basketball team over the course of his playing years at Bonaventure.
“Personally, Coach Fiske is there whenever I need him,” Davenport said. “If I need him to stretch me out, or anything that I ask he’s willing to do, so for him to come to me and ask me to register and do a walk, it’s like a no-brainer, of course I’d do it.”
Davenport said he recommends the rest of the Bonaventure community come together with the athletic department in support of a good cause. He said it is apparent how devoted Fiske is to his nephew and raising awareness about Cystic Fibrosis.
“It’s nice to see how his nephew affects his life and how much he cares about him,” Davenport said. “It’s a great cause and it makes me feel good that I’m a part of something like that.”
