Event organizer and Team in Training participant Stephanie Kurspahic stands with a sign that reads, “I tri for: Justin Steinberg” at the Honored Teammate Picnic on June 15. Photo contributed
“I will be forever grateful for the meaningful impact that the LLS and Team in Training in particular had on my family.”—Stephanie Kurspahic, event organizer.
Prepare to “Paint the Pub Purple” when O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Herndon hosts a happy hour benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) on Thursday, June 27. Taking place from 4-8 p.m., the happy hour will bring together supporters with drink and food specials and live music.
Event organizer and Team in Training participant Stephanie Kurspahic has teamed up with the Irish pub to raise money for the LLS through the Team in Training program. The program gives participants the opportunity to train for endurance events while taking part in fundraising efforts to raise money for the LLS which, in turn, helps fund everything from research to chemotherapy for patients.
“I got involved [with LLS] because my brother had leukemia,” said Kurspahic. “I thought it’d be really cool to give back and honor [his] memory.”
O’Sullivan’s has agreed to donate 15 percent of profits and 100 percent of the raffle sales raised during the happy hour.
“It’s for a good cause,” said Bar Manager Enda Browne, now in his second time working with Kurspahic to host an event benefiting the LLS. “I like helping out local charities and I enjoy seeing new faces in the pub. It will be a good event all around.”
Happy hour attendees are asked to wear purple, the Team in Training color, as they show their support. Customers will get to enjoy live music by local musician David Thong throughout the event. In addition, the raffle prizes will be auctioned off at $5 a ticket, or $10 for three and $20 for 10.
The prizes include a signed print by local artist Harun Mehmedinovic, certificates for one month of free yoga and a one-hour training session at the Pedro Sauer Total Fitness Academy in Sterling, and gift cards for II Fornaio, Mon Ami Gabi, Midtown Jewelers and Bow Tie Cinemas.
Since starting with Team in Training in 2009, Kurspahic hasn’t stopped in her quest with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Currently training for the Beach to Battleship Triathlon, a 70.3-mile race, that will take place in North Carolina on Oct. 27, the Reston resident hopes to get closer to her fundraising goal.
“The mission is to find a cure for blood cancers and improve the quality of life for patients and family,” Kurspahic said. “I will be forever grateful for the meaningful impact that the LLS and Team in Training in particular had on my family. We had a positive experience [with the LLS] and I want to be a part of the same thing for someone else.”