2011 Results and Photos
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2011 - $81,000 Location: Philadelphia, PAIn 2011, not even a hurricane could stop The Dude from shattering yet another goal and putting cancer on notice that its days are numbered. Hurricane Irene arrived in Philadelphia on the same day as the the main event -- our bowling tournament -- and yet 34 of the 36 registered teams still managed to make it to the bowling alley and strike another blow into cancer's midsection. Once again, The Dude Hates Cancer took a giant step forward in fundraising, raising over $81,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! The 2011 campaign kicked off in style earlier that spring, with a kickoff party at Triumph Brewing Company in Old City on Cinco de Mayo (the party featured a Lebowski costume contest, a Lebowski-character Wii Bowling Tournament, and the unveiling of the official event t-shirt designed by participant Joey Munwell). The Philly Restaurant Pass raffle established itself as a major fundraising boon in its second year of existence, raising $14,830 for the cause and sending one lucky winner -- Nancy Russell -- home with 26 gift certificates to some of Philadelphia's best restaurants! In addition, Nancy's son, participant Dave Russell of The Dudeist Priests, sold her the winning ticket and thereby won the Seller's Incentive prize with 13 more restaurant gift certificates. Chris Sampson was the lucky winner of our second-place Brunch Pass prize. More importantly, our participants fundraised harder than they ever have before, and had a great time doing it. The 2011 campaign saw a record number of team-sponsored fundraisers around the city of Philadelphia, as participants jockeyed for top honors in our fundraising competition. The top fundraising team for 2011 was We Roll on Shabbos, raising an incredible $6,549 to just beat out Mac's Tavern, who raised $6,365. Perhaps even more incredible, We Roll on Shabbos took home top honors in the bowling tournament for the third year in a row! Our top individual fundraiser was Eric Vesotsky of Mac's Tavern, who raised an amazing $4,775 for the campaign and took home a New Year's Eve stay at the Windsor Suites in Philadelphia! Matt Clifford was our second-place fundraiser with $2,710 raised and took home a brand new Aeron chair for his efforts. It was another great year for The Dude Hates Cancer, and another big step towards a cure for cancer. The DetailsAugust 27th, 2011 1st Place Bowling: We Roll on Shabbos (1677 over two games) |
2010 Results and Photos
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2010 - $60,000 Location: Philadelphia, PAIn 2010, for the fourth straight year, The Dude Hates Cancer crushed the total of the previous year, this time more than doubling the total of 2009 (which, in turn, had quintupled the total of 2008). All told, the campaign raised over $60,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, more than $20,000 over its goal of $40,000. It was an incredible effort by an incredible group of people. And it also marked the debut of several new 'Dude' features. Amongst the features introduced in 2010 were:
And, of course, there was some bowling going on, as well! For the first time in TDHC history, the winning team from the previous year was able to defend its title. We Roll on Shabbos again took home first place with an outstanding two-game score of 1723. Finishing second was Team Dumigan with 1643 and The Dawson Street Pub All-Stars finished in third with 1587. More importantly, 2010 featured a record-setting level of participation in our fundraising competition. Welcome to Strikesville again took home top honors (and the Big Booze Prize), raising an incredible $7,165! They were led by the tournament's top individual fundraiser, Paul Sticklin, who raised over $3,200 and took home the 32" flat-screen TV. Finishing just $99 behind them with an equally impressive effort was We Roll on Shabbos, who raised $7,066. The High Rollers also raised lots for the cause, bringing in $3,292 for the LLS and coming in third. All in all, 22 of the 25 teams bowling raised money beyond their registration fees, and we can't thank them enough for their efforts. Following the tournament at North Bowl, the after-party was again held at Johnny Brenda's and featured four great bands. Jeremy Hollis, who had participated in all previous after-parties to date, again played a set, along with terrific performances by The Spinning Leaves, Oso, and Swift Technique. The DetailsAugust 28th, 2010 1st Place Bowling: We Roll on Shabbos |
2009 Results and Photos
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2009 - $27,300 Location: Philadelphia, PA2009 will forever be known as the year everything fell into place for 'The Dude' (if you're into the whole brevity thing). A beautiful new home (North Bowl). A beautiful new organizing committee. Unbelievable support from the local business community. An energized field of teams. A legendary after-party at Johnny Brenda's. And best of all: $27,300 for LLS! All told, the fourth annual TDHC blew the previous three out of the water, raising over five times more than the previous year alone! And by obliterating the organizers' goal of $25,000, it became an official event of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. With so much to be excited about -- the press coverage (TDHC received a cover story in the Philadelphia Inquirer's Weekend Magazine, amongst other publicity), the incredible bands that lined up to play the after-party, the team fundraising competition that went down to the wire -- perhaps the greatest testament to the cause was the fact that the winning team was led by a lymphoma survivor. Helen Chung's "We Roll on Shabbos" blew the competition away and took home top honors on the day. But they weren't the only winners that day. "Welcome to Strikesville" won the team fundraising competition by just $14(!) over the second place finishers, "Murph's High Rollers", taking home the coveted $375 booze prize. And let's not forget that over $27,000 went towards blood cancer research! Thanks to all who participated, donated, and helped turn TDHC into a Philadelphia philanthropic institution. The DetailsAugust 22nd, 2009 1st Place Bowling: We Roll on Shabbos |
2008 Results and Photos
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2008 - $5,114 Location: Philadelphia, PAOn Halloween weekend in 2008, over 120 bowlers on 16 teams participated in the third annual TDHC event, raising over $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! This was to be our last, and best, year in Manayunk. Amongst the highlights were the after-party at the Dawson Street Pub, which featured six different bands, and of course the wonderful costumes worn by a large number of the teams. We were thrilled to receive a prize for our raffle from "The Dude" himself, Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges, who graciously donated an autographed bowling pin featuring his likeness and a photobook of pictures he took during the making of The Big Lebowski Congratulations to the tournament winners, "Nuclear Strike," who put on a bowling clinic the likes of which had to that point never been seen in the tournament's 3-year history. And while they set a new record at that time, their two-game score of 1598 just narrowly edged out another outstanding performance by "Dave Storch is the Sexiest Man Alive!," whose members traveled from DC and NYC to take part. They scored 1543 over two games and finished second. Our top male and female bowlers for the day were Giacomo Ciminello of "Nuclear Strike," who bowled a 210, and Maria Cruz of "Dave Storch...," who bowled a 193. Excellent rounds by any standard! Special thanks go out to the local sponsors, Mr. Jeff Bridges, Ms. Meg Devine, the Maxwell family, Eric and Erin Sliwinski, Aaron and Clair Boczkowski, and the six bands who played the after party free of charge: Jeremy Hollis, Dan Rendine, Twirlin' Martha, Asher Kahn, Drink the Long Draught, and Electric Sex Power. The DetailsNov. 1st, 2008 (Halloween weekend) 1st Place Bowling: Nuclear Strike |
2007 Results and Photos
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2007 - $3,702 Location: Philadelphia, PAFollowing the successful debut of "The Dude Hates Cancer!" in 2006, organizers began to look for ways to expand and improve the event for its 2007 sequel. Sponsors were enlisted for the first time and the tournament field doubled from 8 to 16 teams (requiring an additional session of bowling to be added). A charity raffle was also added at the tournament's after-party. The result: the tournament raised over 2.5 times as much in '07 as it did in '06! There was also some stellar bowling that evening! Led by Jerry Woodfield's top score for the night, "Keg of Whoopass" lived up to their name and took top honors at TDHC in 2007. "I Don't Like Your Jerkoff Name" (the team name is a reference to a line from The Big Lebowski) finished a close second with help from the tournament's top female bowler, Katie Duffy. For the second year running, participants capped off the night with drinks, prizes, raffles, and live music at the nearby Dawson Street Pub. Another successful fundraiser was in the books, and the building blocks were laid for bigger and better things to come. The DetailsOct. 13th, 2007 1st Place Bowling: Keg of Whoopass |
2006 Results and Photos
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2006 - $1,405 Location: Philadelphia, PAIn 2006, "The Dude Hates Cancer!" charity bowling tournament took flight! Eight teams and about 60 bowlers participated in the debut event and raised $1,400 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society -- a fantastic starting point for an event with aspirations of growing into something much larger! Of those eight teams, one emerged victorious: The High Rollers. They were led by Anthony Borgesi, who posted one of the top scores for the evening, while also receiving standout performances from teammates Steven Lanz and Mitch Mandler (who flew in all the way from San Diego to take part). Afterwards, participants ventured down to the Dawson Street Pub for the after-party, which was graciously emcee'd by DJ Hollis (whose talents are unrivaled in the greater Philadelphia area). It was a wonderful evening and the perfect beginning to what has since become one of the up-and-coming philanthropic events in Philadelphia. The DetailsOct. 21st, 2006 1st Place Bowling: The High Rollers |
