David Nassau found a Florida State University student ally in an unexpected place: Twitter.
Last year, the 20-year-old UF business and marketing junior used the Twitter hashtag #HIMYMcharity to publicize his nonprofit organization Hopping 4 a Cure, hoping to catch the attention of “How I Met Your Mother” executives. Instead, he reconnected with an old friend from high school who attends FSU.
Now that friend, Alexis Gayda, a 19-year-old FSU information technology and communications junior, is helping him expand his 4-year-old charity to the Seminoles.
Nassau started Hopping 4 a Cure, a hopscotch tournament benefitting people with multiple sclerosis, as a junior in high school. It originally began as a joke, he said.
He and his friends dressed up in suits for International Suit Day, a fictional day from his favorite show, “How I Met Your Mother.” He told other students he and his friends were on the varsity team for hopscotch, and everyone believed him.
His mother suggested turning the prank into a worthy cause. Nassau came up with the idea to organize hopscotch games to raise money and awareness for people with multiple sclerosis in honor of his father.
“My dad was diagnosed with M.S. on Oct. 13, 2010, and I wanted to do something to help,” he said.
On Feb. 7, Hopping 4 a Cure will be inaugurated at FSU under Gayda’s leadership.
Since the program began, Nassau has raised more than $35,000. All the proceeds have gone toward scholarships, caregiver support and multiple sclerosis medical research.
“It’s really shaped who I’ve become,” he said.
Next semester, the organization will award a $1,500 scholarship to a UF student with M.S. or one with a parent or sibling with M.S., he said.
This will be Hop 4 a Cure’s first scholarship, and Nassau said he hopes to offer it annually. After beginning this partnership with FSU, Nassau said he wants to expand it to other colleges. But first, he has to see how successful it is at FSU.
Gayda said she is already in the process of making Hopping 4 a Cure a student organization at FSU and expects it to be running within several weeks.
She plans to offer internships within the charity for FSU public relations students as well as students interested in event planning in Fall 2015. She said she’s excited to bring the charity to Tallahassee.
“It’s great, not only for the fact of the cause,” she said, “but it’s raising awareness for something that not a lot of people know that much about.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/13/2015 under the headline “UF fundraiser hops to FSU, benefits those with M.S."]
Multiple sclerosis is caused by the body’s immune system attacking myelin, the protective coating around nerve fibers in the central nervous system and can create physical, social, vocational and psychological complications.
Symptoms range from mild to severe.
Common:
Fatigue, difficulty walking, numbness, spasticity, weakness, vision problems, dizziness, bladder problems, bowel problems and depression
Less Common:
Speech problems, swallowing problems, tremor, seizures, breathing problems, itching, headache and hearing loss
Secondary symptoms:
Repeated urinary tract infections, loss of muscle tone, weakness, poor postural alignment, decreased bone density and shallow, inefficient breathing
Data attributed to National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Bunduki “Duke” Ramadan, a 22-year-old UF economics senior, leaps in the air on one of the Broward Outdoor Recreation Complex basketball courts.
