Skating Exhibition Raises $50,000 For Jimmy Fund

Ice dancer Loren Galler-Rabinowitz doesn’t play hockey, but she always skates with a goal. The 18-year-old ice dancer was admitted to Harvard last spring, but deferred for two years to focus on the 2006 Winter Olympics—she already won a bronze medal with partner David Mitchell at the 2004 Nationals.

But this weekend, the Brookline native pirouetted and glided across the ice of Harvard’s Bright Hockey Center for a different goal: finding a cure for cancer.

Galler-Rabinowitz joined other accomplished skaters in the 35th annual “An Evening with Champions” benefit, which has raised more than $2.1 million for the Jimmy Fund since it was started by then-Harvard student John Misha Petkevich ’71.

The event’s co-chair, Carol S. Lee ’05, said it was a success and raised about $50,000, which is about $6,000 more than last year.

The benefit drew nearly 2,500 people this weekend to watch the skaters work their ice magic in the service of kids with cancer.

Skaters also visited patients at the Jimmy Fund facility in Boston, and met patients again at the opening banquet. The skaters also hosted a party for the cancer patients called “Skating with Champions.” The Fund is affiliated with Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Patients and their families accounted for more than 100 people in the audience for Saturday night’s show.

“I like knowing that the money we spent on the tickets went to a good cause,” said Danielle J. Kerper ’08, who attended the show with friends.  “And I really enjoyed the skating,” Kerper added.

Host Paul Wylie ’91, who won a silver medal at the 1992 Olympics, participated in the show for the 20th time.

Performers danced to classical, jazz and pop sound tracks, including those of Coldplay and Madonna.

Fan favorites Oleg and Ludmilla Protopopov, ages 72 and 68, respectively, skated to Nat King Cole’s hit “When I Fall in Love.” The pair won gold medals at the 1964 and 1968 Olympic games and is famous for inventing pairs figure skating moves such as the death spiral, in which the woman glides on one foot almost horizontal to the ice as the man spins her.

Despite their age, the Protopopovs still train for up to seven hours a day. They skated in their 14th performance at Evening with Champions last weekend. “We come here to make a difference. We want all kids to be healthy,” said Ludmilla Protopopov.

Other popular performers included Amber Corwin, 2004 Four Continents Bronze Medalist; Evan Lysacek, 2004 Four Continents Bronze Medalist; Katherine Healy; and Steven Cousins, an eight-time British Champion. Timothy Goebel, the Olympic Bronze Medalist in 2002, also won applause Saturday night.

Johnny Weir, the 2004 National Champion, Jennifer Kirk, the 2004 National Bronze Medalist, and Katie Orscher and Garrett Lucash, the 2003 and 2004 National Pairs Silver Medalists, were all slated to perform this weekend but cancelled due to injury.

The show also featured local rising stars such as 10-year-old Diandra Burke, who received encouraging applause from the crowd.

Mitchell, the ice-dancing partner of Galler-Rabinowitz, said that the pair values the opportunity to help and meet the patients. “This is different than normal competition.  It puts everything into perspective.”