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Zachary Frederick started the Pins for Kids program in 2006 with the help of his head wrestling coach Jay Bastianelli, several teammates, and the Saint Marks High School administration. Zach got the idea and helped support a previous teammate, Nick Salvo, at the high school he attended prior to Saint Marks. The focus was to financially support childhood illness organizations.
During the 2006 wrestling season $16,000.00 was raised and split evenly between Tay Sachs Disease (DJS foundation) and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The 2007 season has chosen to once again support both Tay Sachs and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
It is our hope to continue this effort in memory of all young children who have lost their battles with Tay - Sachs and the many forms of cancer. We especially honor Dylan James Manning who was our first Tay Sachs Child and who we all came to love and honor for his hard fought battle against the terrible Tay Sachs Disease. Dylan passed away on August 2, 2006 at the age of 4 and now is the official Pins for Kids Guardian Angel.
Conner Hopf is our 2006-7 Tay Sachs child and Jake Brown is our 2006-7 Leukemia & Lymphoma child. Both boys will be making appearances at some Pins for Kids events throughout the season. You can find additional information on both Conner and Jake on our website.
Our primary goal is to raise awareness with the public about the diseases that affect our young children. Our long-term goal is to have a major impact on the ability to financially help these organizations with the needed research, which will reduce or eliminate the life threatening diseases.
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