Way to Go: Kyle Dorr, West Islip
West Islip High School junior and cancer survivor Kyle Dorr, center, recently raised $1,150 for the Cancer Center for Kids at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola. He is pictured here with various school staff members and Ashley Carlo, left, a manager at the cancer center. Credit: West Islip School District
A West Islip student who is a survivor of leukemia has given back to the hospital he credits with saving his life.
Kyle Dorr, a West Islip High School junior, raised $1,150 for the Cancer Center for Kids at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola by selling customized silicone bracelets in the school’s colors of blue and gold that feature the slogan “West Islip Lions Stand Up to Cancer.”
Dorr, 16, who continues to receive care at Winthrop, said he currently is in the “maintenance” phase of treatment, which he said can last about two years.
“I decided to hold this fundraiser to give back to the wonderful people that saved my life,” he said.
Dorr spearheaded the fundraiser in May as part of his involvement in the school’s HEARTT Club, a community service group. Each member gets a month to lead a fundraiser, he said.
The bracelets were sold during lunch periods for $2 each and in bulk to the school’s sports teams. They also were sold at the district’s Beach Street Middle School, with the $100 raised there going to a student who just began his battle with cancer, Dorr said.
Dorr is a board member of the HEARTT Club and a member of the school’s swim team.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
