Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif. (March 6, 2025) — Palos Verdes Peninsula High School’s (PVPHS) annual “Walk for Life” on Friday, Feb. 28, brought together more than 1000 students, faculty, staff and community members in support of cancer patients and their families. The event raised $36,000 to benefit Cancer Support Community South Bay and the Irvine-based Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. The walk began on the PVPHS campus and culminated at Highridge Park.
Activities Director Kimi Hendrick led the pre-walk ceremony, which featured opening remarks by PVPHS Principal Dr. Brent Kuykendall. He emphasized the importance of the walk for those affected by cancer, including his own family.
“I am fortunate to have my mother sitting here with us today, she is in the middle of chemo right now and fighting every single day,” Kuykendall said. “The money you raise not only benefits cancer support and research but also families and individuals like my mom who are impacted every day by this terrible disease.”
The ceremony also featured heartfelt speeches from ASB president Renata Lopez, who spoke about coping with grief since the loss of her mother, to gastric cancer in 2022, and former school resource officer, David Rozas, who shared his wife’s ongoing battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Both speakers reflected on how cancer had profoundly changed their lives and how the students’ participation in the walk makes a difference. A traditional floral tribute followed, honoring members of the PVPHS community affected by cancer.
During the ceremony, checks for $18,000 each were presented to Danielle Fragalla, chief executive officer of Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, and Jillian Van Leuven, executive director and CEO of Cancer Support Community South Bay.
“The check you are presenting today is more than just a donation,” said Van Leuven. “It is hope, it is strength, and it is solidarity for those facing one of the toughest battles of their lives. Thanks to your generosity, individuals and families in our community will receive the emotional and psychological support they need to navigate their cancer journey with resilience and courage…keep walking, keep inspiring and know that your impact extends far beyond today.”
In keeping with Panther tradition, the ceremony concluded with students and staff chanting “hope” as purple powder was thrown into the air symbolizing Panther pride and unity in the fight against cancer.
About Cancer Support Community South Bay:
A nonprofit organization founded in 1987, Cancer Support Community South Bay (CSC South Bay) has served more than 30,000 individuals and provides 200 free programs per month of social and emotional support, education, and hope for people with cancer and their families. Programs are offered both in-person and online. CSC South Bay’s goal is to help as many cancer patients as possible recover from the physical and emotional effects of cancer to the greatest extent possible. Services include weekly support group programs, cancer-specific networking groups, kids’ community programs, individual counseling, informational brochures, stress reduction and healthy lifestyle activities, and educational lectures and workshops on nutrition and treatment. Offering what is considered to be the gold standard of psychosocial support, all programs at CSC South Bay are derived from evidence-based psychosocial oncology and mind-body research. CSC South Bay serves the South Bay, Long Beach, and Orange County areas. For more information, visit www.CSCSouthBay.org or call (310) 376-3550.
