Geek of the Week: Helen Chung of The Dude Hates Cancer ...

Photo by?Lloyd David Photography

This week our featured geek is Helen Chung, local chairperson for the recently expanded nationwide campaign, The Dude Hates Cancer.

TDHC is a non-profit, all volunteer organization that raises awareness and funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by holding annual events based on the Coen Bros classic, The Big Lebowski. These fundraising events culminate in a huge bowling tournament, taking place this year on Sep 15th at North Bowl.

We spoke with Helen about TDHC, her love of crafts and Philly, and of course ? The Dude!

Tell me about The Dude Hates Cancer organization.

Helen Chung: The Dude Hates Cancer is an annual Lebowski-themed charity campaign that benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Teams sign up, help raise money in the community throughout the summer, and then come together for a big bowling tournament and after-party concert at the end of summer.

It?s basically a fundraising campaign like a charity marathon or walk?except it?s bowling. It?s easy to do and a lot of fun; people come up with Lebowski-themed team names and have bowling shirts made. Prizes are awarded like flat screen TVs, cases of craft beer, trophies for best and worst bowlers. It?s awesomely fun but at the same time supports a meaningful cause.

TDHC was started in 2006 by Tim Maxwell whose parents were diagnosed with 2 different forms of blood cancer. Wanting to do something positive, he organized a bowling fundraiser with some friends and named it The Dude Hates Cancer. They raised $1,400 with that first event, and it quickly grew from that each year. Now in its 7th year in Philly, we?re shooting to raise $100,000, and sister campaigns have been launched in Buffalo and Houston.

Our organization is made up of volunteers, and 100% of what we raise goes to The LLS. We all have full-time jobs and spend our nights and weekends working on the campaigns. Some have been on the organizing committee with Tim since the start.

How did you get involved? How long have you been the chairperson?

Chung: I heard about TDHC in 2009 through a coworker who invited me to join his team. I had just gone into remission from lymphoma, and after going through the worst year of my life, I was at a point where I felt a deep sense of appreciation for life, and for the advances in cancer treatments and research that helped me get through it. I also happened to have a fianc? and friends who are big into The Big Lebowski and bowling? it was a natural fit for us. The top fundraising prize that year was $375 worth of liquor, which wasn?t a bad motivator either!

We decided to start our own team, called ?We Roll on Shabbos.? And that?s essentially all it took. We?re a competitive bunch, and quickly got involved with fundraising. Our team took 1st place in the bowling tournament and placed 3rd in fundraising that year. We had so much fun competing and meeting the amazing people; I think we were all instantly inspired by the event. That year was when TDHC raised enough money to become an official LLS event, which made us feel like we were a part of that. I was very inspired.

I joined the organizing committee in 2010, and then co-chaired the 2011 event with Tim Maxwell. My team has come back each year and is still undefeated in bowling. After Tim decided to return to his hometown in Buffalo to be closer to his parents, I took over as the Chair for the 2012 Philly campaign, while Tim started up the Buffalo campaign. I?ve since stepped down from my team to focus on chairing the event, which I?ll definitely miss a lot.

It is great to hear that you recovered from lymphoma, and that you were inspired to get involved with TDHC. It?s also pretty boss that you have an undefeated team! What?s your secret? You have some ringers? A particular strategy?

Chung: Yeah, we made the three-peat last year! It was awesome.

It?s pretty crazy because we?re not some group of serious bowlers. I mean, we have 2 or 3 members who are consistently good, but most of us are average, with good games and bad. And then there?s me ? I?m happy to break 100 ? and Diane, who prefers to use bumper guards! For some reason, we just all bowled really well during the tournaments. Even Diane and I would roll the occasional strikes and the whole team would go nuts. We?re pretty loud and obnoxious, and maybe that?s been our strategy. We wear our signature gold bowling shirts (there have been imitators), with gold medals around our necks (from every winning year), and have been known to make dinosaur noises after strikes and spares. Other teams have definitely been trying to take us down.

My fianc? Rob has taken over as the new team captain this year, and I will be cheering them on to make it four in a row. I?ll be cheering on many friends who have also since signed up teams and who come back every year to participate along with us. It?s pretty amazing. All of these friends have played a big part in why TDHC is so special and fulfilling to me.

How can one get involved to help TDHC?

Chung: There are many ways! (To learn more, visit www.thedudehatescancer.com)

1. Start a team. Philly this year will have 39 spots for teams of 6 to10, and the main event will be held on Saturday, September 15 at North Bowl. Grab some friends, come up with a name, and sign up online. Registration is $280 per team, which includes 3 hours of bowling, shoe rentals, event t-shirts, and admission into the after-party show (not a bad deal even if it wasn?t for charity).

2. Make a donation online. You can support one of the teams or participants, or make a general donation. You can also purchase raffle tickets from any of the participants for a chance to win our featured prize, AKA, best prize ever: The Philly Restaurant Pass [see philly.thedudehatescancer.com/raffle].

3. Come out to our events. There will be many fun and creative fundraisers that teams will be throwing all summer, as well as our main event on 9/15 at North Bowl and after-party benefit concert (location TBA). Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or join our mailing list for updates.

4. Connect with us. Prizes are donated by over 100 restaurants, shops and businesses annually (even from Jeff Bridges himself). Connect us with your contacts for sponsorship opportunities, prize donations, media exposure? Perhaps you?d even like to join our organizing committee!

What are your geek obsessions?

Chung: I love taking photos. I own many cameras and have one within reach at all times. I got an iPhone over Christmas and was instantly addicted to Instagram.

I?m into all kinds of crafts, in particular paper crafts and crochet. I also collect buttons and make jewelry out of them [http://www.simplybuttons.net].

In terms of games, they?re more my fianc??s area of expertise. He is very into games of all kinds, especially strategy games (there are stacks of them in our living room). Me? I?m into Scramble with Friends right now.

I love cats. A lot.

Favorite movies: The Matrix (part 1 only). Monty Python?s Quest for the Holy Grail. The Big Lebowski, of course.

I?m far from athletic but I enjoy watching sports. I?m a Sixers fan, Eagles fan, general Philly sports fan.

Where can you be found in Philly?

Chung: I love to eat and I love beer, so I?m pretty lucky being here. I don?t consider myself a ?foodie? so much as just a glutton for food. A lot of times when I leave Philly I realize how spoiled I am; there are so many options here for amazing restaurants and beers. These days you can walk into almost any bar and try a beer you?ve never had before.

I have many, but a few current favorite spots: Kraftwork, Prohibition Taproom, Cochon, Dmitri?s, Sabrina?s Caf?, Soy Caf?.

I was born and raised in South Philly and have also lived in Queen Village for a good while. Philly is home for me, and a lot of places are comforting or nostalgic. I always wish I had more time to wander, snap photos, and just enjoy it. I love checking out the many local craft fairs, visiting the boutiques, trying the new restaurants and bars. I love Philly, period!

It has to be asked: who is your favorite Lebowski character?

Chung: Everyone seems to love Walter, but for me it?s probably The Dude. I love his overall demeanor, and his reactions to the situations he finds himself in. His lines are classic and so ridiculously funny.

Maude?s awesome too and I particularly love the dialogue between her and The Dude. ?Don?t be fatuous, Jeffrey!? I wish I could use words like ?fatuous? on a regular basis.

Thanks Helen!

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Learn more about The Dude Hates Cancer, below

TDHC on the web: www.thedudehatescancer.com
TDHC on Twitter: @DudeHatesCancer
TDHC on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thedudehatescancer

Source: http://geekadelphia.com/2012/07/25/geek-of-the-week-helen-chung-of-the-dude-hates-cancer/

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