The University of South Carolina's men's club rugby team hosted a fundraiser last month for second-year accounting student Erik Elken, who was diagnosed with sarcoma.
The club hosted the "Bald for Big E" event on the Russell House patio on March 27. Participants donated $5 to have their heads shaved for cancer awareness.
Elken was initially diagnosed with a torn labrum earlier this year, but university doctors located a tumor in his femur and the surrounding tissue. The tumors were later found to be Stage IV NUT Sarcoma, an aggressive and rare form of cancer that spreads to different parts of the body. He is being treated at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey.
"We spread the message about this great kid," second-year computer science student Charlie Gorman said. "No matter who you are, he will make a connection with you. It's rare to find someone like that that will take the time out of his or her day to just connect with anyone he meets."
The fundraiser saw nearly 80 people participate and raised more than $12,000 for Elken's family. Rugby players, students, parents and alumni all shaved their heads in honor of Elken. The six-hour event also drew off-campus visitors, as fourth-year neuroscience student Pat Emch had his head shaved by a high school student.
"They thought it was funny to see a bunch of guys with their heads shaved, as well as offering $5 to shave a head," first-year sport and entertainment management student Gavin Curran said. "They got a lot of fun out of that and made us look goofy with the haircuts."
Players spread the word about the fundraiser as much as they could. Some even told their coworkers and high school classmates about the event, which was streamed live on YouTube. Emch said the main goal was to spread awareness for Elken's diagnosis.
"We had so many people coming up and paying like five, 10 bucks to shave our heads," Emch said. "There was always like a constant group of people just checking it out and seeing what was going on."
Longtime family friend Bridget Tomasicchio created a GoFundMe page to help Elken's mother pay for medical costs. It's received more than $70,000 from 843 donors at the time of this reporting. Eight donors have donated $1,000, including fourth-year nursing student and teammate Quinn Lafferty.
"If you have ever seen a rugby game, you may be familiar with a scrum, which involves teammates binding together tightly and pushing against the other team for possession of the ball," Tomasicchio posted. "With your financial and spiritual help, we can build a tight and powerful scrum around Erik and score a victory against cancer."
Second-year mechanical engineering student Tom Brady said Elken attended the club's first game after his diagnosis. He informed the coaches during pregame and told them to withhold the news from the team so it wouldn't distract them.
"He was there helping us warm up and everything, getting all the guys hyped up," Brady said. "He had this incredible news behind him, but he didn't want himself to be the center of attention."
Brady and Elken bonded with each other when they joined the team. Elken quickly established himself as one of the club's best players, as he became a starter as a freshman. Brady believes Elken's steady personality helped him mesh with the team early on.
"On the field, he's definitely our rock," Brady said. "He's always very sound, never loses his head. He's always fighting for the guy in the same jersey as him no matter what. It's huge not having that, but his support is still felt."
Elken's teammates describe him as someone who deeply cares for others and is willing to make sacrifices for his fellow rugby players.
"When we were at the Virginia Tech tournament, one of our teammates sprained his ankle pretty bad and there was a hill to where all of our stuff was," Curran said. "Eric being Eric, he pickup up our teammate and walked him up the hill."
The club has stayed in communication with Elken during his cancer battle. They frequently have long phone conversations with him after games and soon will wear warm-up shirts before games that honor his cause.
"Our team now has kind of rallied behind his image," Emsch said. "We've talked a lot about playing for him and playing how he would play. We know he'd do anything to be on the field with us."
Elken's mother created a CaringBridge profile where she frequently posts updates about her son's treatment. Donors can also post supportive messages on the GoFundMe page.