Vols raising funds for cancer research; cause hits home for Raleigh, others

The Tennessee baseball team, which began fall practice Monday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, is attempting to raise $5000 for cancer research during next month’s Light The Night Walk at Knoxville’s Volunteer Landing near the UT campus. Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s nationwide evening walk to raise funds and awareness about blood cancers. The Volunteer Landing walk is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 4.

The team’s fundraising efforts were spearheaded by senior pitcher Zane Stone, who, along with head coach Todd Raleigh and other team members, has personally been affected by the disease. The team has set up a special Web site, through which people can securely donate to help the Vols reach their goal.

That Web site address is: https://www.active.com/donate/ltnNashvi/2027_utbaseball

Raleigh, in his first year at Tennessee, has an intensely personal desire to see his team get behind this great cause.

“After high school, my brother (John Raleigh III) had gone away to play baseball at Central Florida,” Raleigh said. “He didn’t feel well for most of the year, so he came back home and soon found out he had Hodgkin’s disease. He battled that for about a year and a half, but he eventually lost that battle. He was 19-years-old.

“He was the oldest of seven children, so obviously it was a big deal to our family. This cause, for me, is something that always touches home a little bit more than some other causes because my family lived it. I think it’s a great cause, I’ve always supported it in the past and I always will support it.”

Stone’s encounter with one of the many forms of cancer came in the form of acute leukemia, which afflicted his mother, Sheila.

“I was a sophomore in high school when my Mother was diagnosed,” Stone said. “She underwent extensive chemotherapy for four months before being released from 24-hour care. But when I was a senior, her leukemia relapsed. That meant she needed a bone marrow or stem-cell transplant.

“We were blessed enough to find a compatible donor, and it was a woman from Germany. Nine months after the successful transplant, my Mother was released from the hospital in time to attend my baseball team’s Senior Day ceremony.”

Rising junior Jarred Frazier is another current Vol all too familiar with the impact cancer has on the families of those it touches. Frazier’s mother, Lynn, presently suffers from osteosarcoma.

“My Mother has been fighting an uphill battle against cancer for six years,” Frazier said. “She has been through chemotherapy four times and recently had surgery to remove a tumor. It’s extremely tough to watch someone you love endure so much pain. I just hope and pray that someday we’ll find a cure.”

Light The Night participants carry illuminated balloons to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by cancer. Funds raised support the Society’s mission: cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

“I know we’re shooting pretty high with a team goal of $5000,” Stone said. “And I know we already ask a lot out of our fans—to come out each year and support us at so many games throughout a long season. But when you really think about it, finding a cure for these diseases is so much more important than winning or losing a baseball game. We can help to save the lives of people we know.”