Lauren Hill may be gone from our Earthly world, but her spirit and inspiration remain in the millions of lives and hearts she touched in her short time here. In this fog of craziness, Lauren shown like a beacon of pure happiness and good. She is a role model to show my daughter about the power one voice can have when driven with conviction, you can achieve anything you want!

So it’s extremely awesome to announce that Xavier University and Mount St. Joseph (Lauren’s college) will start their college basketball season’s on November 14th at Xavier’s Cintas Center. They will kick off the inaugural Lauren Hill Tipoff Classic.

Xavier will play Evansville at 1:00 pm, 30 minutes after their conclusion Mount St. Joseph will play Hiram; who played last year in front of 10,000 people to watch as Lauren play one of her four games before her cancer treatments relegated her to an assistant coach role.

Hill’s efforts resulted in 1.5 million dollars raised for cancer research and started The Cure Starts Now. Lisa Hill, her mother announced the plan by saying, “Lauren instilled hope in all of us by trying to cure cancer and by delivering the message to never give up on your dreams,I think the event will mean as much for Hiram and Xavier as it will for the Mount St. Joseph community. The Tipoff Classic should serve as a way to remember what we have to celebrate: life … and some basketball!

“Lauren’s courage and positive approach to adversity inspired everyone who heard her story,” said Xavier Athletics Director Greg Christopher. “This tribute to Lauren is another way her spirit can impact others. Our goal is to honor Lauren and her fight, along with continuing to raise awareness for pediatric brain cancer.”

Xavier and the Mount plan on making it an annual event. Tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-17.

While Lauren did ultimately succumb to DIPG on April 10th, her never ending smile, determination, and hope should serve as a reminder that no matter how difficult or unfair life may treat you, that you can persevere and spread your wings to fly.

As I write these words my eyes fill with tears, remembering her courage, her smile. She should remind us that no matter how bad the deck is stacked against you, to just keep fighting and putting that smile on. She inspired me to get back into writing and did all she did with grace. Lauren Hill we miss you. Thank you for all that you did with the short time you were with us.