Jon Jansen began his 'In the Trenches' podcast this week by discussing the incredible experiences of Michigan's trip to South Africa, before welcoming Jason (the son of Lloyd Carr) and Tammi Carr to the segment to discuss the ChadTough Foundation.
Their son, Chad, passed away in 2015 from a disease called DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma), and the ChadTough Foundation has helped raise money and awareness to find a cure to the disease ever since.
They shared more about their efforts below:
Jon Jansen, on the Football Team's Trip to South Africa:
"We can't pay college athletes, but we can give them every educational experience possible.
"When you travel somewhere, you remember more from the experience than from what you learned in a classroom.
"These kids went to the South African National Heritage Site, which housed the prison of Nelson Mandela where he was held for 18 years — they actually went into the cell itself, and then learned about the fall of Apartheid.
"They also had a rugby clinic and taught the local youth about American football, and saw the views from the top of Table Mountain, which was formed 520 million years ago.
"The guys witnessed African penguins, ostriches and seals, and then flew to Johannesburg and learned about the transition to democracy in the '90s.
"There is a sense of team unity whenever they come back from trips like these, because they have a shared experience.
"The players see their coaches in a different environment than in the meeting room, and they get to be around them in such a different light."
Jason Carr:
"We don't exist to the level we are without the Michigan family — they're at the core of everything we do.
"The amazing thing about this whole project has been the number of grads and alumni out there who we had no relationships with who jumped on in some amazing ways.
"One of the things we do is actually called a 'Dancing With the Ann Arbor Stars' event, and Don Brown's wife was incredible in it.
"Tons of people wanted to dance after seeing it because they saw how much weight they could lose and how great she looked after it.
"We'll let you, Jon [Jansen], to try and get Don Brown sign up for it this year.
"[Softball] Coach [Carol] Hutchins, [women's gymnastics coach Bev] Plocki and [baseball coach Erik] Bakich have danced in it as well, and all their teams showed up — it's cool for the kids to see their coaches in such a different light."
Tammi Carr:
"I think Chad is really admiring everything happening now from up above.
"I'm sure he likes everyone who is participating coming together from different coaches and different teams, and putting rivalries aside.
"Pediatric cancer is rare in the grand scheme, but it's been shocking how little research has been done with the disease.
"Funders are now paying attention though, and we can give those bright minds the initial funding and the data to lead to something big.
"When Chad was first diagnosed, Michigan only saw one or two patients per year with DIPG — they're now seeing 12, and they have over 25 researchers with at least a toe in DIPG.
"When there is a cure for this disease, all the Michigan faithful can be at the big ol' party we throw because they all played a part in it."
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