Shonda Schilling Featured Guest at Elk’s Fundraiser Friday Night
DOVER — The Red Sox may be 1,500 miles away, but Red Sox Nation can put on their rally caps Friday for another important cause.
Shonda Schilling, wife of legendary Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, will be at the Elks Lodge for a Boston Marathon fundraiser to benefit the SHADE Foundation, which she started a year after she was diagnosed with skin cancer.
The fundraiser, which will run from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., will include live music, a DJ dance party and silent auction featuring a wide range of items including autographed baseballs from Red Sox players Jon Lester and Jason Varitek, four State Street Pavilion Club Seat tickets with a personal tour of Fenway and a World Series jersey autographed by Curt Schilling.
Schilling said although there is “something there for everybody,” she knew the Red Sox items would appeal to the broad fan base in Dover.
“It’s a way to get something that they may never be able to,” Schilling said. “And it’s for a good cause.”
But Schilling said the fundraiser also gives her an opportunity to spread a message that could have a big impact.
“Even if I get 100 people to come and I get to say what SHADE is about really quick, there might be an adult that goes home and looks over their body and it might save their life,” Schilling said. “That’s the best thing we can do.”
Dover residents Michael Brewer, Schilling’s brother, and Jeffery Hatch are hosting the event and will both be running in the Boston Marathon next month.
It will be both Schilling’s and Brewer’s fourth year in a row representing SHADE in the race, Schilling said.
Schilling said running the race grew from a longtime goal to a way to reclaim her life after being diagnosed with malignant melanoma in 2001.
“Doing a marathon was a way for me to take back my life and not be afraid,” Schilling said, adding that she initially feared doing outdoor activities after her diagnosis. “It’s not about being outside, it’s about being knowledgeable and preventive. Really it was a way for me to go, ‘I’m not living scared anymore.’”
Tickets for the Boston Marathon fundraiser are $10 and will be available at the door.
In between spending time with her husband at spring training, Schilling has been making frequent trips to the Seacoast to promote SHADE.
Earlier this month, Schilling traveled to elementary schools in Dover to talk to students about sun safety, a pivotal part of protecting the future generations from skin cancer, she said.
“Kids are sponges,” Schilling said. “I tell them, ‘Can you imagine that your moms and dads did not wear seat belts?’ and they can’t believe it. That’s what I want this to be. I want them to grow up and tell their kids ‘Can you imagine we didn’t wear sunblock?’”
While at Dover schools, Schilling also promoted SHADE’s “Limit the Sun, Not the Fun” national poster contest, which asks children from kindergarten to eighth grade to draw posters displaying at least five “SunWise action steps for sun safety.”
A winner from each state in New England will be invited to watch the Red Sox play the Milwaukee Brewers on May 18 and meeting Curt Schilling on the field before the game.
One winner from New England will also be chosen to throw out the first pitch of the game.
Each state’s winner will also be eligible to win a grand prize trip for four to Walt Disney World.
“The poster contest is a great teaching tool to talk about it and get kids talking to their parents about it,” Schilling said. Details about the contest are available on SHADE’s website, ShadeFoundation.org.