Lauren's First and Goal Fact Sheet

About Lauren's First and Goal

• Lauren´s First and Goal was established in 2004 by Marianne and John Loose in honor of their 14-year-old daughter Lauren, a pediatric brain tumor survivor.
• The mission of Lauren´s First and Goal is to provide financial support for brain tumor research and cancer services, to offer financial and emotional support to families living with pediatric cancer, and to increase awareness of the disease -- all through the funding gained through LFG Football Camp and charitable contributions.
• Since 2004, LFG has raised more than $1.5 million. More than $600,000 has gone directly to research facilities, while over $271,000 has been donated to pediatric cancer services and family support services.
• Lauren´s First and Goal is operated through the generosity of volunteers; no one involved with the organization has ever received a salary.
• LFG´s primary fundraising events are annual football camps for high school student-athletes.
• Another fundraiser, Hope is Here to Stay, a children´s picture book that shares the story of Lauren and her family, was introduced in May 2009.
• The newest fundraiser, the Manual of Football Drills and Skills, was introduced in May 2011. The manual contains drills and game-management strategies from more than 130 coaches across the country.

About the camps

• LFG Football Camp is a one-day, non-contact camp for any student-athlete entering grades 9-12. Participants receive instruction in a variety of offensive and defensive skills from volunteer college coaches from around the country.
• For the 2011 camps, student-athletes were asked to contribute a $30 registration fee that benefits LFG. The first 400 pre-registered campers were guaranteed t-shirts.
• The 2011 camps were held on Sunday, June 5 in Easton, Pa. at Lafayette College´s Metzgar Athletic Campus and Sunday, June 26 at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio.
• In 2010, LFG introduced a new annual event, a 7-on-7 tournament on Long Island.
• LFG also held camps in Florida in 2008 and 2009.
• In eight years, 12,086 high school athletes from 1,158 different high schools have attended the camps in Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio. The camps have grown from 320 participants in 2004 to 2,313 student-athletes in 2011.
• Students from 30 different states, Canada and Singapore have participated in LFG camps.
• More than 200 volunteers planned and executed the 2011 camps - 10 times the number of volunteers that were involved in the first camp in 2004.
• More than 300 coaches, representing more than 100 colleges and universities, volunteered at the 2011 camps.