A dream beyond the diamond: Elliott Avent's mission to leave a lasting legacy
Now, Avent's Victory Over Cancer Game is fueling research for pediatric cancer.
"Being a part of this pediatric cancer game to me means as much as all the years that I have spent here," Avent said. "Knowing what it will do in years to come and hopefully make a difference in so many kids and families' lives."
The Wolfpack will wear gold jerseys symbolizing pediatric cancer and invite kids battling cancer to join them on the field, play catch and run the bases.
A young man named Brady who recently "rang the bell" to mark the end of a treatment will throw out the first pitch.
For Avent, the cause is personal. His nine-year-old nephew, Shane, has been battling a brain tumor and threw out the first pitch at last year's event. Avent said Shane is doing "great" and awaits a hopeful MRI this Friday.
"It's not just what he goes through, which is one thing, it's how bravely Shane fights it," Avent said. "You feel bad for him, but he doesn't feel bad for himself. He's just a normal child that goes about life, playing and having fun with kids, going to parties and going to school. How bravely these kids fight this is so incredible."
The idea came together last year thanks to former Wolfpack star and current Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and his wife Kristen, a former NC State gymnast. They wanted to launch a pediatric cancer fund and brought the idea to Avent. Together, they partnered with the V Foundation to create this game.
They were also inspired by the Play4Kay game, which began at NC State to raise money and awareness for women's cancer research and has since grown to include more than 1,000 participating schools. Avent hopes something similar happens in baseball, where every Division I, II and III school has a similar game.
"It all starts with a small step," Avent said. "Hopefully a small step that we started at NC State can grow into a bigger step, and then a skip, and then maybe a leap, to get this throughout the country and just create so much awareness which creates funds, which creates research, which creates solutions and ideas and possibly cures for children that have to grow up with something that no child should grow up with."
Avent's influence is already spreading. This week, the ACC is hosting its first-ever Baseball Cancer Awareness Week, an initiative he proposed. Pittsburgh will be supporting pediatric cancer research this weekend, and Wake Forest auctioned off yellow jerseys last week to benefit Brenner Children's Hospital and pediatric cancer research. Outside of the ACC, Texas A&M recently had a Turn It Gold series to fund research for childhood cancer.
Support the Victory Over Cancer Game by donating here.
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