Panthers on the Prowl: Bill Zito’s campaign to raise funds for cancer research
In late March, while the Florida Panthers were gearing up for their latest playoff run that would eventually result in a second consecutive Stanley Cup title, Bill Zito was also at work on another cause close to his heart.
Zito and his wife Julie, as co-chairs of the American Cancer Society’s campaign in South Florida, were figuring out ways to fundraise for cancer research. Cancer has hit close to home for Zito many times. He lost his sister, his mother and his mother-in-law to the disease. Julie is a breast cancer survivor, as well.
Julie came up with an idea that would be creative and personal. Inspired by the “Cows on Parade” art project in Chicago in 1999, one that featured hundreds of life-sized decorated cows throughout the city, the Zitos would offer the opportunity to buy life-sized Panthers that they could personalize and display throughout South Florida. All proceeds would go toward the American Cancer Society.
And thus, “Panthers on the Prowl” was born, with a goal of selling 200 of these Panthers for $5,000 each — an ultimate goal of $1 million to fight cancer.
“She said, ‘Why don’t you get people to purchase a panther and then they can individualize it in any way they can?’” Zito said. “Which is really important because you have some appointment — some might be for someone at the hospital or a child who’s sick; some might be silly. I painted mine like a mahi. It can be anything for anybody, but what it does is it brings everyone together, and then when you put in that artistic part of it, they’re beautiful. They’re truly works of art, and they inspire. They can make you smile. They can make you cry.”
The campaign has received immense support. In addition to multiple local businesses purchasing panthers, the campaign has endorsements from NFL players and South Florida natives Nick and Joey Bosa as well as Grammy Award winner Michael Buble.
The team will celebrate Panthers on the Prowl month all of October, the first month of the season, capped by the team’s annual “Pink in the Rink Night” on Oct. 25.
“This campaign,” Zito said, “is an attempt to try to achieve the fundraising goal, and at the same time, bring people together, laugh, smile and enjoy our community.”
Zito’s commitment to the cause extends beyond Panthers on the Prowl. On Saturday, he will serve as the keynote speaker for U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Cancer Survivorship Summit at Nova Southeastern University. The event runs from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will also include various panels, presentations and workshops with the goal to “provide education and awareness about survivorship; highlight the survivorship journey for survivors, their family members and caregivers, and providers; ensure survivors are not lost along their journey and gain an in-depth understanding of what they will face and how to navigate their diagnosis; offer support through hope and community resources; and bring together like-minded individuals and organizations with the same goals and mission to forge connections and generate collaborative opportunities.”
“Bill’s participation as our keynote speaker is going to save some people’s lives,” Wasserman Schultz said, “because they will pay attention to cancer and to paying attention to their own health, and most likely will get themselves to a doctor when they wouldn’t have otherwise, because they heard him talk about the importance. That’s why everyone needs to get involved in making sure that people are paying attention to their health because when you feel like something isn’t quite right, when what you normally feel like isn’t how you feel like now, getting yourself to a doctor, making sure that, with cancer, you can catch it early, It increases your chances for survival multiple fold. That’s why prominent voices like Bill’s [are important]. When someone gives your time — money is one thing, but everyone knows that most people’s precious resource is their time, including the time that people are going to take to come to the summit — and Bill has a lot on his plate, but understands through very personal experiences how important it is.”
.JPG)