With the snow finally gone and the weather beginning to break, many return to the sidewalks to work off those winter pounds. For Grand Valley State University sophomore Matt Kuivenhoven, however, springtime and sidewalks are opportunities to bring hope for people suffering from cancer.

Kuivenhoven is a member of the pre-Student Osteopathic Medicine Association, an organization for students looking to enter the medical field. His life was affected by cancer in 2010 when his grandmother succumbed to the disease.

“On my birthday on July 6, 2010, she seemed to be in perfect health,” he said. “Three months later, she was dead.”

Her unexpected death inspired Kuivenhoven to sponsor an event in her honor to help raise money to combat the disease that took her life.

On Saturday, Pre-SOMA will sponsor the first Gail Easter Memorial 5K Run to battle lung cancer. The run will take place on the Grand Valley State University campus and will begin at 9 a.m. Runners will pay a registration fee of $10 for students and $15 for nonstudents. Same-day registration will increase prices by $5. Additionally, donations are always welcome, either on race day or through the event’s website, www.gvsupresoma.webs.com.

While the group expects about 75 people to run the race, Kuivenhoven said they hope more people sign up so they can donate more money to combat the disease.

Pre-SOMA is teaming with the Van Andel Research Institute for this event, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to cancer research at VAI.

“I believe that this run will help take steps to cure cancer because it gets the community involved,” Kuivenhoven said. “I also think that a lot of people see how deadly cancer is, and they want to help. This event gives them that ability to contribute to a greater cause.”

The Van Andel Research Institute continues to make steady progress in cancer research. VAI recently released a new technology that allows doctors to detect cancer sooner, which can sometimes increase the likelihood of remission. Pre-SOMA hopes the money they donate can help produce the next breakthrough in the field of medicine.

Currently, more than 11 million people are diagnosed and more than 500,000 die from cancer each year in the U.S. Institutions like VAI continue to search for a cure through research and development of new technologies that can aid doctors in diagnosing, treating and one day curing cancer.

“We have been blessed by people in the community, like Matt, who embrace what we do here,” said Gerilyn May of VAI. “It’s an honor to work with people who are willing to conduct these events to help raise money.”

Since 2009, VAI sponsored 52 Community for a Cure events and raised more than $200,000 for cancer research.

“We are funded by a generous endowment from the Van Andel family that keeps our lights on and water running, and we conduct research mainly funded by federal grants,” said Tim Hawkins, communications director of VAI.

“Every dollar (from) an event like Matt’s goes directly to research,” May added. “That is why every dollar matters.”

The Gail Easter Memorial 5k Run will have a table in Kirkhof Center all week to register runners for the event and collect donations.

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