The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

Student-athletes get green for Kirby

Clad in green shirts that read "Beating the Buzzer Against Sanfilippo" on the front and "A Cure for Kirby" on the back, about 50 members of the tennis and volleyball teams were on hand at the exits to collect donations toward medical research on neurogenetic disorders.,”

After the men's basketball team put away Villanova Monday night, a group of Marquette student-athletes took a few extra minutes in the Bradley Center to help work toward an even bigger win.

Clad in green shirts that read "Beating the Buzzer Against Sanfilippo" on the front and "A Cure for Kirby" on the back, about 50 members of the tennis and volleyball teams were on hand at the exits to collect donations toward medical research on neurogenetic disorders.

The shirts were in reference to Kirby Wilson, the younger sister of freshman tennis player Margaret Wilson. Kirby Wilson was diagnosed with Sanfilippo "B" Syndrome in 1995. With no treatment or cure existing for the condition, Kirby's parents founded the Children's Medical Research Foundation to fund research on Sanfilippo Syndrome and other neurogenetic disorders.

To date, the foundation has donated more than $2.7 million toward research, according to the group's Web site, curekirby.com.

Senior tennis player and Student Athletic Advisory Committee member Dominika Dabrowski, who helped organize the fundraiser, said the team and the SAAC put the event together after talking with the Wilsons.

"We try to do a fundraiser every year," she said. "We just worked a lot with (SAAC adviser and Associate Athletics Director) Tom Ford, and then we also did a lot with sports marketing and with the Bradley Center."

Dabrowski said while the money collected would not be counted until the next day, early returns looked promising.

"I think things are going great," she said. "I think it also helped that we were handing out fliers before the game to let people know what was going on.

"At first, they thought we were trying to sell them bobbleheads, but if they read the first couple sentences, they knew what it was about."

Freshman Kylie Moore, sophomore Robin Metzler and junior Shannon Brown were among those collecting donations after the game, setting up at the top of the escalator to catch fans who were filtering toward the exits.

Holding her bag open, calling out "Help save children!" and thanking those who dropped in bills or coins, Metzler said things were going well.

"It's so nice that you guys are doing this," said one woman as she slipped a $10 bill in one of the bags. Some fans asked questions about what the research was for and where the money was going as they reached for their wallets. Others handed bills to their children to deposit and gave the eager young philanthropists a nudge in the right direction.

Dabrowksi said results varied in different parts of the building but estimated that by the end of the night, student-athletes had collected around $100 per bag.

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