One person handing out maroon T-shirts emblazoned with “GuruSimran #8 GUSOO” stood out among the crowd that was gathered around the entrance to Drake Stadium.
Dribble for the Cure participant Ashley Fleming is a part of the 35-participant Guru Simran group, with members hailing from around the Los Angeles area to support the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation’s event.
“We walk in honor of my very good friend’s daughter. My daughter and Guru Simran (Kaur Khalsa) were friends since they were 4 years old,” Fleming said. “My daughter went to school with her and played basketball with her. Guru Simran loved basketball and, even though we lost her nine years ago, it is still fresh today.”
Guru Simran died nine years ago at the age of 14 from an inoperable brain tumor.
“Guru Simran was actually at the UCLA (Mattel Children’s) Hospital,” said Dharam Dev Kaur Khalsa, Guru Simran’s mother. “We’ve been raising money ever since and we want to help children that we can, in her memory.”
Dharam Dev Kaur Khalsa said the families still have close ties to UCLA and the campus area, as many of the current honorary captains for the Dribble were treated at the Mattel Children’s Hospital.
Fleming said the team has grown in size since it joined the ranks of dribblers 10 years ago, one year after the fundraiser began.
The team has brought at least 35 participants every year, raising $9,000 in the first two years and $3,000 up until this year.