By Kyle Bonagura

When Pleasanton’s Susan Dawson died in early October after a long battle with breast cancer, the community lost a member whose impact was felt far and wide.

As a way to honor her memory and raise money for breast cancer awareness, several groups from Amador Valley High have teamed up to create a fundraiser. The Kick for the Cure will be centered around a boys soccer doubleheader in which the Amador Valley junior varsity and varsity squads will host Richmond on Saturday, starting with the J.V. game at 11 a.m., followed by the varsity game at 1 p.m.

Dawson became a huge supporter of the Amador boys soccer program when her son, Trevor, played for the Dons from 2004 to 2008.

“She was a tireless worker for the Amador Valley soccer team and a great community volunteer,” Amador Valley boys J.V. soccer coach Joe Carlucci said. “At her services, a couple of us from Amador were standing around talking and (assistant varsity coach) Rob Flores said we should play a game in her honor.

“We didn’t want to play a game and just say, ‘This game is in her honor.’ We wanted to do something that was meaningful.”

Carlucci, Flores and several others formed a committee and got to work.

Adidas donated pink jerseys and wrist bands for the Amador players to wear during Saturday’s games, and pink sweatshirts for the program to sell. Pleasanton’s MadeToOrder donated pink Kick for the Cure bracelets, which will also be on sale.

Carlucci said the three goals of the event are to honor Dawson, promote breast cancer awareness and help raise money for the ValleyCare Health Library and Ryan Comer Cancer Resource Center in Pleasanton. Book angels, which help the library, can be purchased in memory of someone who was lost to breast cancer.

“The library helps newly diagnosed breast cancer patients get information they need,” said ValleyCare Library Resource Nurse Mary Prishtina. “Some books will be given away to new patients, and the fundraiser will also help us keep the library current by putting new books on the shelves.”

Carlucci said they wanted to donate money to an organization that will benefit the community, which led them to ValleyCare.

Nearly 100,000 people have used the library since it was founded in 1991, and it serves approximately 600 people per month, according to the ValleyCare Health Library fact sheet. “I’m humbled by the continuous support of our library,” Prishtina said.

Students from the Amador Valley leadership program and girls soccer team will be helping run the event on Saturday, which is shaping up to be a great day.

Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Anyone who wishes to purchase a book angel for the library can mail a $10 donation to ValleyCare Charitable Foundations, c/o ValleyCare Health Library Book Angel Program, 1111 E. Stanley Blvd., Livermore, CA 94550.

ALUMNI GAMES RAISE MORE THAN $6,000: The seventh annual Ryan Gordon Foothill-Amador Valley Alumni soccer games took place Sunday and raised more than $6,000 for the boys and girls soccer programs at the two schools. The games featured nearly 80 participants and alumni from as far back as 1978.

The game was originally started to honor the memory of Ryan Gordon, but is now more focused on keeping the rivalry between the two schools alive. Foothill won the women’s game 4-1, while the Amador men won 3-1.

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