The Pizza Place aids leukemia fundraiser team

Sparta - Tim Harder, owner of The Pizza Place Restaurant, Woodport Road, Sparta, has again joined with local residents, JoAnn Beneat and Pamela Conlan, to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Beneat and Conlan are members of the Northern N.J. chapter of society’s “Team in Training®.” As members of the team, Beneat and Conlan will be running in the society’s 26.2- mile marathon in Phoenix on Jan. 15, 2006. They have pledged to raise at least $7,000 in donations by seeking contributions from individual supporters and local businesses, including The Pizza Place. The Team In Training is the world’s largest endurance sports training program. Since 1988, more than 275,000 volunteer participants, like Beneat and Conlan, have helped raise more than $600 million to help find a cure for blood borne cancers and to assist those struggling with such diseases. The Pizza Place has agreed to donate $2 for every pizza sold on Nov. 8. In January 1995, Harder’s uncle, George E. Hahn, was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), which is identified by the uncontrolled, exaggerated growth and accumulation of cells (“leukemic blasts”). Although his original prognosis was poor, Hahn is now a 10-year survivor thanks to research results, and has been discharged by his doctor. In addition to Hahn, Beneat and Conlan will also be running in honor of Nisha Drummond, a 13-year-old Sparta resident fighting acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of leukemia in those under age 19, and Steve Greenberg of Midland Park, who was recently diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Aside from ordering pizza from from The Pizza Place Nov. 8, those wishing to support Beneat and Conlan in their effort can send contributions to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, c/o Joann Beneat, 62 Hidden Glen Dr., Sparta, NJ 07871. Online donations can be made at active.com/donate/tntnonj/tntnonjJBeneat1 or active.com/donate/tntnonj/tntnonjPConlan. All contributions are tax deductible.