Siobhan Cahill, a freshman studying sustainable materials and technology, will be riding from Baltimore to San Francisco on a bicycle this summer in honor of her late stepmother, if she raises enough money to do so.
According to Cahill, her parents divorced when she was about five years old, and her stepmom Linda helped raise her and her sister from a young age. When Cahill was a freshman in high school, though, her dad and Linda got divorced. She found out her senior year that Linda had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was dying.
“I just feel like I needed to do something to honor her,” Cahill said. “Especially because within the last few years of her life, I didn’t get to say thank you or tell her that I love her because communication was just cut off, and it really hurt when I went back and thought about it.”
Cahill said her stepmother’s death was “shattering,” prompting her to actively begin searching for programs and places she could honor people with cancer and cope with her sadness simultaneously.
During her search, she stumbled upon a post about the program 4k for Cancer on her Tumblr dashboard and knew that she had found what she was looking for.
4K for Cancer is a program under the nonprofit Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. The organization is “dedicated to enhancing lives by supporting, educating and connecting young adults, and their loved ones, affected by cancer,” according to the website.
Cahill said the program spoke to her because it helps young adults, a demographic not usually paired with cancer.
“You think cancer only happens to older people who have already had kids and lives, but it’s everywhere,” she said. “If something were to happen to me like that I would want help from an organization like Ulman.”
The 4K for Cancer takes 70 days, with Cahill’s group going from Baltimore to San Francisco. Her trip will begin on May 31 and end on Aug. 8.The participants ride anywhere from 50 to 150 miles a day, taking a day or two off every few weeks to complete some type of service.
However, according to Cahill, to do this, she needs to raise $4500.
“It’s a little daunting right now,” she said.
So far, she has raised $800 but said she needs as much help as she can get.
Her 4K mentor Stephanie Cario, a graduate student at James Madison University, raised the money and completed the ride this past summer and is offering moral support and tips to Cahill.
Though she did not have any personal ties to cancer, Cario was athletic, much like Cahill who is on the club Rugby team, and wanted to make a difference.
“If anyone has any extra money, from twenty five cents to fifty dollars, donate it,” Cario said. “And if you don’t, share Cahill’s information with someone who does.”
As for how you can donate, Cahill said on her 4K profile found at 4kforcancer.org/profiles/siobhan-cahill. She said there is a “big glaring donate button” and wanted to emphasize that she is thankful for any amount. Also, she said if someone donates in honor of someone, she will dedicate a day of her ride to that person.
“Even though I know it’s going to be long and take up my whole summer, I couldn’t imagine doing anything better,” Cahill said.
