About 100 business representatives, students and Triangle residents attended a fundraiser on Sunday in honor of former N.C. State student Ian Peterson, who died of lymphoma last year at the age of 21. Shelten Media, the company sponsoring the event, will donate the proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of North Carolina at the Hemlock Plaza in Cary.
In October 2012, Peterson was diagnosed with advanced Burkitt’s lymphoma, a cancer of B-lymphocyte white-blood cells of the immune system. Known to his friends as “the guy who did everything,” Peterson continued to work hard at several jobs and served as president of the Grains of Time.
“We put on this event to raise money and awareness for cancer research, and we did it to honor Ian,” said Shelli Dallacqua, president of Shelten Media.
Dallacqua declined to state exactly how much money had been raised, but she said Shelten Media had “met its goals.”
Dallacqua said the money will be donated to the leukemia and lymphoma society of North Carolina on behalf of Team Cure, a fundraising group seeking to raise $131,500 for LLS in 2014.
“It’s not just about us, and it’s definitely not about me,” said Kevin Snyder, Team Cure leader. “It’s about leukemia and lymphoma and helping to do something today that could impact change tomorrow. I’m here today because my sister’s alive because somebody did something in the past. What we do today can make a change for tomorrow.”
Total Concepts Salon sponsored a “Shave-a-Thon,” and attendees could purchase raffle tickets from a variety of vendors. The Grains of Time performed several numbers, and each soloist paused to say something special about Peterson.
Luke Miller, the Grains of Time choreographer, said the group enjoys doing events in honor of Peterson.
“Ian made this group what it is,” Miller said. “Before him, the group just stood there in a circle, and now we just won an award for best choreography. Ian really pushed that while he was president.”
Miller said he met Peterson during his first week at N.C. State when he auditioned for the Grains of Time.
“He was the first guy to actually take charge,” Miller said. “The group that I got into is nowhere near the group that we are now.”
Snyder said that everyone knows someone who has dealt with the trauma of cancer.
This is about survivorship, and it’s also about honor,” Snyder said. “We honor Ian’s family today.”
