March 13, 2008

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette will host the fourth annual Lauren's First and Goal Football Camp from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 1 at the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex.

The non-contact clinic is open to students entering grades 9-12 in the fall of 2008. The minimum donation is $25, with all of the proceeds from the camp directly benefiting Lauren's First and Goal Foundation, a 501c3 tax-exempt charitable organization that supports pediatric brain tumor research and pediatric cancer services.

In its first four years, Lauren's First and Goal Foundation has raised more than $310,000 from the football camp, including more than $126,000 last summer.

Over $164,000 has been dedicated to specific pediatric brain tumor research studies at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, UCLA Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Brookhaven National Lab. Funding has also been allocated to the Duke University Brain Tumor Center through funding to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States. The Foundation also funds pediatric cancer services including pet therapy programs, patient advocacy initiatives, and social and support group opportunities, and aids families living with a pediatric cancer diagnosis.

In only its fifth year of existence, the camp has blossomed into one of the largest one-day football camps in the country.

"We're extremely excited with the progress that the camp has made in the first four years," said John Loose, Lafayette's defensive coordinator and director of Lauren's First and Goal Football Camp. "The athletes are coached by and gain exposure to college coaches at every level, and we're expecting more than 220 coaches representing over 100 schools at the camp this year. Thanks to the generosity of a number of donors, all of the money goes to the foundation and we're able to do some great things with it."

The camp is staffed by coaches representing NCAA Division I, II and III institutions, all of whom will volunteer their time. This year, former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky will be the guest speaker. Last year, Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms addressed the crowd. Ben Kotwica of the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, John Harbaugh and Bobby Ross have all been guest speakers at the one-day event.

Camp registration forms are available on Lafayette's athletics website, www.goleopards.com, and at www.laurensfirstandgoal.org. For more information, call the Lafayette football office at 610-330-5485 or 610-330-5838, or email firstandgoal@rcn.com.