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New Hyde Park, N.Y. (June 22, 2014) - Members of the Fordham University men's basketball team had an early wakeup call on Sunday morning. Not only were the Rams early risers, they also had a mission on Sunday morning, a mission to help one of their own as the Rams spent the morning running the streets of New Hyde Park, New York, as part of Katie's Run, a charity run to benefit The Katie McBride Foundation.

Katie McBride was the sister of former Fordham men's basketball manager Mike McBride, GSB '13, who died from Burkitt's Lymphoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer, in 2008.  Katie's Run, a project of the Katie McBride Foundation, honors the memory of Katie and the families of all childhood leukemia victims and other life-threatening diseases. This event's primary objective is to honor Katie while raising important funds and awareness of the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island and the family support services it provides.
 
"I stress to the team that it's very important to give back and we are always looking for ways to help," said head coach Tom Pecora. "Three years ago when we first heard of Katie's Run we were all in. Mike McBride has been a valued member of our program and he comes from a great family. To do something like this to benefit his sister's foundation was an easy decision to make."
 
In its fifth year, Katie's Run has grown immensely, starting with a few hundred runners the first year and featuring close to 1,000 competitors this year. Last year, the race raised $15,000 and the McBride family was hoping for an even better total in 2014.
 
All monies raised will go to the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island. The House is a home-away-from home for the families of seriously ill children who are undergoing medical care at local hospitals. The 42-bedroom facility, located on the campus of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York (formerly known as Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park), was a place where Katie's mother spent nine months during Katie's treatments.
 
The Fordham contingent in the 2014 Katie's Run was comprised of returning players Antwoine Anderson, Ryan Canty, Ryan Rhoomes, Jon Severe, Bryan Smith, Manny Suarez and Mandell Thomas along with incoming freshmen Eric Paschall and Nemanja Zarkovic, assistant video coordinator Duane Woodward and assistant coach Michael DePaoli.
 
"It means so much to me and my family to have the team here for the third straight year," said Mike McBride, speaking about the Rams who came out to support his sister's charity. "For them to give up a Sunday morning when they could be sleeping in speaks volumes for them. They are true student-athletes who are part of my family. They're a very special group!"