The Event

Ten years ago, Ralph Fatello set off on a journey to surf every day at North Beach for an entire year to raise money for diabetes in memory of his father, Gus, who died of complications from the disease in 2000.

A decade later to the date, the 60-year-old commander of the American Legion Post 35 is doing it all over again. But this time it's in honor of Molly Rowlee — who died last year at the age of 5 from cancer.

"Ten years ago I did it for my dad, Gus," Fatello said. "I'll do it again for Molly and everyone else who's dealing with cancer in their lives."

Calling it "Catch A Wave for Molly," Fatello caught the first wave of what he hopes is 365 of them, one each day for the next year, on July 26 at 9 a.m. at North Beach.

All proceeds raised throughout the year will go towards the Molly Fund, which was established to help families endure the financial strain while they are helping their child battle cancer.

Many thanks to all of you that swung by the beach on Monday July 26, 2010 in order to help Meg, Kieran, and I celebrate Molly. Ralph Fatello said it best, that Monday marked the "last of the firsts" and that is certainly true. The most difficult time is behind us. Molly would want us to be happy, all of us, and Meighan and I could sense that because we were both feeling good throughout the day on Monday. To have 100 of our close pals and family on the beach with us on Monday night was simply amazing. The kids took it upon themselves to decorate the beach with "Molly" hearts and shakas - constructed with beach stones and flowers. It was beautiful and it was the perfect way to celebrate Molly. Thank you to all that helped make that night so very special.

Please show your support for him and this great effort by donating through his PayPal donation button. Payment is securely handled by PayPal and you don't need an account to donate.

The Details

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