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On Sunday, September 28, 2008 a 5K Walk/10K Road Race will be held in memory of 10-year-old Alyssa E. Correira who passed away in March 2008 after a battle with leukemia.

Correira of Rehoboth, MA, successfully beat a malignant brain tumor in 2005 but developed leukemia as a result of chemotherapy. On February 7, 2008, the School of Graduate Studies at Bridgewater State College sponsored a bone marrow drive in honor of Alyssa, the niece of Graduate School staff member Sharon Rice. Nearly 100 people from the campus community were tested by the Rhode Island Blood Bank and added to the National Bone Marrow Registry. Unfortunately, the complications from leukemia intensified, and Correira passed away on March 13, 2008, just three weeks before her 11th birthday and shortly before she could receive the bone marrow transplant that could have saved her life.

While Alyssa never received the bone marrow transplant, the need for bone marrow donors is still growing significantly. Bone marrow transplants can be used to help cure blood diseases, bone marrow diseases, and certain types of cancer. According to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), "more than 6,000 men, women and children are searching the NMDP Registry for a life-saving donor like you." Joining the NMDP Registry increases the likelihood that these sick patients will find a donor match and have a live-saving transplant.

Her family started a memorial fund in her memory, and the First Annual 5K Walk/10K Road Race to benefit the Alyssa E. Correira Memorial Fund will be held (rain or shine) on September 28, 2008 at Colt State Park in Bristol, RI. Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m., and the race will begin at 9:00 a.m. All are welcomed to attend and the first 200 people to register will receive t-shirts. Runners may register online at www.needtorace.com, and walkers may register by contacting Sharon Rice, 30 Freeman St., Norton, MA 02766, or e-mailing Sharon at sharon_rice@comcast.net. All proceeds from this event will be awarded as scholarships in the spring of 2009.

Anyone interested in donating to the memorial fund can do so by sending a check made payable to the Alyssa E. Correira Memorial Fund to Sharon Rice (see mailing address above) or sending a donation via PayPal on the fund's website, www.alyssaecorreiramemorialfund.org.

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