Licking Away Cancer

Several people satisfied their sweet tooth Saturday for a good cause during the third annual "Super Scooper" ice cream event, a fundraiser to benefit Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research.

The event, which was held at Rye Recreation Center, was the idea of Rye High School alumnus Caitlin Lyons. Lyons, a student at the University of Pennyslvania, came up with the idea for the fundraiser while on a college visit to the university. While there, she learned about students doing an ice cream social to raise money for a children's hospital and decided to the same kind of event in Rye.

After Caitlin graduated from high school, her sister, Kelly Lyons, and Lea Sporken and Harrison Janart, all sophomores at Rye High School, began to spearhead the effort.

Kelly Lyons said the fundraiser has special meaning for her family.

"My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. She went to Memorial Sloan-Kettering and they did such a great job there," she said. "We figured we could donate or help out for this cause; so we thought it would be great to help out in a fun way that people would respond to."

For just $5 admission to the event, attendees could eat all the ice cream they pleased. 

With the help of sponsors such as Costco, Carvel, Longford and Stop and Shop, among others, last year's ice cream benefit raised $1,800. The proceeds from that event and this year's "Super Scooper" event will all go directly to Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

Janart, whose mother Susan is a cancer survivor, said the event combines fighting for a good cause with an enjoyable summer pastime.

"Raising money for cancer research is very important to me because several of my family members have died from this terrible disease," he said. "By donating money to Sloan-Kettering, it will help supply the organization with the funds needed in order to figure out how to stop the disease from taking our loved ones. A lot of people like to help out, and who doesn't like ice cream?"

If you are interested in donating, please call Susan Janart at (914) 262-0177.