For press releases issued after to Jan. 20, 2012, see http://newsdesk.gmu.edu/category/press-releases/
Dec. 14, 2007
Media Contact: Tara Laskowski, tlaskows@gmu.edu 703-993-8815
FAIRFAX, VA – December 14, 2007—George Mason University Men’s Head Basketball Coach Jim Larranaga and the Mason Geography Department are teaming up with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s National Capital Area Chapter to provide a special gift to children hospitalized at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children.
On Tuesday, December 18, Coach Larranaga and members of the Mason basketball and cheerleading squads will visit Inova to distribute the World Ball, an official NCAA-sized basketball that looks like a globe, to children who are hospitalized. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will feature geography quizzes, autographs and photo opportunities for the children.
The World Ball was developed in 2006 as a result of a collaboration between Allan Falconer, chair of the Mason Geography Department, and Larranaga.
The World Ball will provide a fun activity for the hospitalized children, while also helping them gain basic knowledge about world geography. Many children who battle cancers like leukemia spend days, weeks, months and years in treatment and are often confined to their hospital rooms.
For more information about the Geography Department and the Athletics Program, please visit cos.gmu.edu/departments/geography or gomason.cstv.com/.
About The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 68 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The society’s mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has invested more than $550 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, the Society made 5.1 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
About George Mason University
George Mason University, located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor near Washington, D.C., is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in a range of academic fields. With strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering, information technology, biotechnology and health care, Mason prepares its students to succeed in the work force and meet the needs of the region and the world. Mason professors conduct groundbreaking research in areas such as cancer, climate change, information technology and the biosciences, and Mason’s Center for the Arts brings world-renowned artists, musicians and actors to its stage. Its School of Law is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 35 law schools in the United States.
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