SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that for the fourth consecutive year the club will participate in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk on Saturday, Oct. 15 in Palo Alto. Earthquakes players and members of the team’s front office will join fans to walk in the event. This year the team will walk in honor of Matt Luzunaris and his girlfriend Austen.
Luzunaris has been very committed to cancer causes during his first season with the Earthquakes, establishing partnerships with local hospitals and cancer outreach groups. His life has been touched by cancer in multiple ways. He lost his brother, Sean, to cancer in 2001 and Austen is currently undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in Seattle. Click here to read Matt’s story.
The Earthquakes will also host The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 15 for the game against Sporting Kansas City. There will be a silent auction featuring items such as: Quakes game-worn jerseys, a team-signed West Bromwich Albion jersey and signed memorabilia from the 1994 World Cup Reunion hosted by the club on July 2. All proceeds from the auction will benefit LLS. Additionally, fans can participate in pregame activities in the fan zone that will require a donation to LLS, player autograph signing, soccer kick game, etc.
All fans that donate money to the Quakes’ walk team will also earn a chance to win two on-field seats for the club’s regular season finale on Oct. 22 against FC Dallas. The prize package will also include two Earthquakes jerseys and a lunch with Matt Luzunaris.
On Oct. 15, the Light The Night Walk festivities at Palo Alto High School in begin at 5 p.m. PT, with the walk starting at dusk. Following the walk, Earthquakes fans are invited to watch the Quakes game against Seattle Sounders FC at 7:30 p.m. PT at a to-be-announced local restaurant/bar in Palo Alto.
Participants walk carrying illuminated balloons to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by cancer. All funds raised through the Light The Night Walk support LLS’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Children, adults and seniors are all encouraged to participate in the event.
The Light The Night Walk brings together people from across the United States and Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Donations will go towards lifesaving blood cancer research, free educational materials and events for patients and families, local programs, a peer-to-peer consulting program called First Connection and comprehensive assistance through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Information Resource Center. For information about other walks happening in the Bay Area, go to www.lightthenight.org. To learn more about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, visit www.lls.org.
People interested in walking with the Earthquakes at Light The Night can register online at the club’s team page: www.sjearthquakes.com/lightthenight.
