Local teen takes on cancer

Cornwall — As of Jan. 15, Cornwall high school senior Michael Raphael has put his skills at the chessboard in support of a very good cause: taking on cancer by hosting a series of chess tournaments. Raphael has stated that he picked Jan. 15, 2007, the actual birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, as his start date because of Dr. King’s message of bringing people together as well as striving for social consciousness and social activism every day. Raphael’s journey to fight cancer began at Barnes and Noble Book Sellers in Newburgh on Jan. 18. He will continue to have a chess tournament at that location on Jan. 27, and then travels on to the Dyson Cancer at Vassar Brothers Medical Center on Superbowl Sunday, where chess players from throughout New York will face off in the Kids helping Kids Fighting Cancer Challenge. This event is open to the public with an entry fee of $20 to pre-register and $25 at the door, and there will be a pre-game Superbowl tailgate party filled with plenty of food to eat. This year’s event will be held in honor of the life of Ilene Raphael Rosner, Raphael’s aunt, who died of cancer in 1999. You can track Raphael’s journey through pictures at www.hudsonvalleychess.org, and even help to save lives by donating to the Dyson Cancer Center. Send a donation to: the Dyson Cancer Center, Vassar Brothers Medical Center, 45 Reade Place, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. Call Vassar Brothers Medical Center at 845-454-8500 for further information.