Bears Punter Adam Podlesh Organizes Fundraising Event For Young Cancer Patient

Chicago Bears punter Adam Podlesh is organizing a special event after spending time with Gavin Waterman, the young cancer patient he met for an afternoon hangout.

Podlesh gave Gavin an autographed football, a pair of Bears sunglasses, a stuffed Staley teddy bear, and a practice jersey during his visit to the Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

Following that meet and greet Adam Podlesh decided to do more. Podlesh and some of his teammates will host an event on Wednesday in which they will shave their heads to raise money for Gavin’s family and cancer awareness programs.

Participating in the event are fellow kicker Robbie Gould and Blake Costanzo, James Anderson, and Austin Signor. A few other players are also expected to join in the head shaving event.

Speaking on the official Chicago Bears website, Podlesh reveals:

“We had been throwing out ideas on what we could do to help them out and we decided on raising money shaving heads for Gavin, which is applicable because with his chemotherapy he’ll be losing his hair in the next week or two.”

If you want to make a donation, you can visit here. For every $25 donation that you make, a single raffle ticket will be provided. Podesh plans to give away 20 different autographed items. The items being raffled off will be provided with signatures from Bears participants.

Speaking of Adam’s decision to host the event, Gavin’s dad Jacob Waterman said:

“Adam’s a great guy. We’re really blessed to have him in our lives. He’s been awesome getting things together and helping us out with the funds.”

Adam Podesh is a cancer survivor himself. Podesh was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer in February 2010 when he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Podesh had a malignant tumor removed during surgery.

Speaking of his own life experience with cancer, the Chicago Bears kicker reveals:

“I don’t think that I would be as involved with cancer charities and events as I am now if I hadn’t been diagnosed with cancer. After going through remission and being cancer free, I’ve really made it my purpose to try to do whatever I can to help the fight against cancer.”

Will you be donating to Adam Podesh’s event for Gavin Waterman?