HAMILTON – The Colgate field hockey team will host its third annual chili cook-off on Saturday during its final game of the season and celebrate Senior Day at Tyler's Field.
The Raiders are raising money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation to raise money and awareness for Parkinson's disease research.
Tickets for the chili cook-off are $5 to enjoy the 10 different chili recipes from members of the Colgate community before voting on your favorite with a winner selected at the end of the event.
Fans who are unable to make it to Tyler's Field on Saturday can donate to the field hockey team's cause by
clicking here.
Saturday also serves as senior day for the Raiders' six seniors:
Emily Brash (Riverside, Connecticut),
Hennie Cabuhay (Morris Plains, New Jersey),
Katie Connors (Manhasset, New York),
Kerry Glenday (Babylon, New York),
Whitney Jones (Sudbury, Massachusetts) and
Kayla Robinson (Davis, California).
Brash has deep connection with Parkinson's disease as her grandmother was diagnosed at 59 years old, before Brash was born. The effects of Parkinson's made simple tasks such as holding a cup and balancing, difficult for Brash's grandmother. Later, she developed the "Parkinson's stare" and dyskinesia, an involuntary movement similar to cerebral palsy. After undergoing brain surgery in 1992, the shaking improved but she was unable to talk or walk the same as she had before. She was in a wheelchair for the final 10 years of her life with her husband, Brash's grandfather, caring for her everyday.
"By the time I was born in 1995, I only knew her as a sick, old woman who couldn't really talk, who had to be fed and her mind was starting to go," Brash said.
"It was horrible for my Mom and her siblings to watch because it is such a degrading disease. [My grandmother] was such a refined lady who took pride in speaking well, always looking nice and proper, and was full of life."
Parkinson's disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder affecting five million people worldwide. In the United States, there are 60,000 new cases every year with no known cure at this time.
The field hockey team has joined the fight to find a cure through Team Fox of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, a grassroots community fundraising program that generate funds and awareness for Parkinson's disease research.
