WHY WE RISE
Can I trust my body? Who am I now? How do I live with uncertainty and still give myself to this life?
A breast cancer diagnosis in her 20s, 30s, or 40s arrives in the middle of a life still taking shape. She may be building a career, falling in love, raising children, or hoping to become a mother. Suddenly, her body demands decisions she never expected to make. Whether treatment ends or continues, questions remain that no medical appointment can fully answer:
Can I trust my body? Who am I now? How do I live with uncertainty and still give myself to this life?
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For ten years, iRise Above has brought women into that kind of company. We create experiences and conversations where they can be seen in the fullness of their lives, find their voices, and explore what living well means to them. More young women deserve to find that place in the decade ahead.
For ten years, iRise Above has brought women into that kind of company. We create experiences and conversations where they can be seen in the fullness of their lives, find their voices, and explore what living well means to them. More young women deserve to find that place in the decade ahead.
TEN YEARS OF BECOMING
Ten years ago, Gillian Lichota founded iRise Above in response to a question she knew all too well: How can a young woman care for her whole self when breast cancer has changed her body, her plans, and her sense of who she is? Since then, thousands of young women have found guidance, shared understanding, and a community at iRise Above.
We bring women together with peers and experts, offering targeted, age-appropriate, science-informed support for their well-being. Through movement, nutrition, mindfulness, and other integrated wellness practices, women can address the lasting effects of breast cancer, reconnect with their bodies, and make informed choices for their lives. These tools help women care for themselves as life changes—and the connections they build ensure they don’t have to face those changes alone.
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Sponsors and supporters have helped transform Gillian’s conviction into resources, experiences, and relationships that have reached thousands of young women. In 2027, we’ll celebrate all we’ve built together—and invite returning and new partners to help shape the next ten years. With their support, more women can find the knowledge to care for their bodies, discover what living well means to them, and connect with others ready to rise alongside them.
In 2027, we’ll celebrate all we’ve built together—and invite returning and new partners to help shape the next ten years.
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP
THE ONLY POND HOCKEY CHARITY TOURNAMENT WHERE NHL ALUMNI TAKE THE ICE FOR YOUNG WOMEN AFTER BREAST CANCER
Play hockey to raise awareness of the unique challenges and needs of young women during and after breast cancer.
RAISE AWARENESS
Raise essential funds for iRise Above Breast Cancer’s transformative mission programs and other initiatives that empower, inspire, and support young women in healing and in living well.
FUND THE WORK
WHY WE PLAY
On February 27, 2027, players, NHL alumni, sponsors, and friends will gather at the Gottesman Rink at the Davis Center in Central Park for the Northern Roots Pond Hockey Charity Classic. The day brings our community together for a shared purpose: helping young women live well during and after breast cancer.
In 2027, iRise Above celebrates ten years of building resources and a vibrant community that now reaches thousands of young women. To our returning sponsors: your commitment made this possible. Join us to celebrate how far we’ve come and shape the next decade. To new sponsors: you have a place in this work. Your partnership can extend this support to women we have yet to meet, helping more find the tools and community to heal and live well on their own terms.
Saturday, February 27, 2027 · 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
Gottesman Rink at the Davis Center · Central Park, New York City
NHL ALUMNI WHO SUPPORT
Dave Christian
1980 U.S. Olympic gold medalist
Bernie Nicholls
2-time participant
George Parros
3-time participant · 2007 Stanley Cup
Morris Lukowich
3-time participant
The 2027 alumni lineup is being confirmed.
Stéphane Matteau
Rangers double-overtime Game 7 hero
Arron Asham
2-time participant
Ed Belfour
Guest speaker · inaugural year · Hall of Fame
Dmitri Khristich
3-time participant
Brian Propp
2-time participant
Brad Chartrand
Los Angeles Kings, 1999–2004
Greg Meredith
3-time participant
Kilimanjaro · Cotopaxi · Patagonia · Peru · Everest Base Camp · Mont Blanc · Utah · Mexico · Costa Rica · Galápagos
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On Kilimanjaro and Cotopaxi, women climb from the valleys toward new heights – and discover, looking back, that the low places belong to the mountain, too. Across Patagonia, in Peru, at Everest Base Camp, and on Mont Blanc, the trail shifts beneath their feet, inviting them to steady their breath, find their own pace, and reach for one another. Utah’s sandstone bears the marks of every force that shaped it. On surfboards in Mexico and Costa Rica, women meet each wave as it rises; beneath the Galápagos Sea, they enter a living world hidden from the shore. These landscapes reflect lives transformed by cancer. They hold both the difficult climbs and the moments of wonder, offering young women space to recognize where they are – and imagine what may still lie ahead after breast cancer.
WHAT YOUR SUPPORT MAKES POSSIBLE
HEALING JOURNEYS
WELLNESS PROGRAMS
Emerging research suggests that outdoor adventure programs can support body image and emotional well-being among young adults affected by cancer.
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On Kilimanjaro and Cotopaxi, women climb from the valleys toward new heights – and discover, looking back, that the low places belong to the mountain, too. Across Patagonia, in Peru, at Everest Base Camp, and on Mont Blanc, the trail shifts beneath their feet, inviting them to steady their breath, find their own pace, and reach for one another. Utah’s sandstone bears the marks of every force that shaped it. On surfboards in Mexico and Costa Rica, women meet each wave as it rises; beneath the Galápagos Sea, they enter a living world hidden from the shore. These landscapes reflect lives transformed by cancer. They hold both the difficult climbs and the moments of wonder, offering young women space to recognize where they are – and imagine what may still lie ahead after breast cancer.
WORKSHOPS
…a blank page may hold something she has never said aloud.
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In our workshops, women explore what their bodies can do and find words for what they have lived through. With trusted experts and one another, they put science-informed ideas into practice through movement, nutrition, art, writing, and conversations about emotional well-being. A new way to move may help a woman feel more at ease in her body; a discussion about boundaries may help her name what she needs; a blank page may hold something she has never said aloud. Each workshop offers something she can explore further in the life she returns to.
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In a webinar, a woman can bring questions about reconstruction, emerging treatment options, intimacy, sleep, or long-term health to an expert—and hear another woman ask the question she had been afraid to voice. She can weigh what she learns against her own experience and return to her care team with a more informed perspective.
WEBINARS
…and hear another woman ask the question she had been afraid to voice.
“WE RARELY KNOW WHEN OUR COURAGE BECOMES SOMEONE ELSE’S PERMISSION.”
Rising Above: Our Transformational Journey to Wholeness After Breast Cancer became a bestselling anthology because young women were willing to tell their stories in their own voices. Across its pages, they write about changed bodies, grief, love, uncertainty, and the lives they continue to shape. The book carries those voices far beyond an iRise Above gathering. It gives another woman a chance to recognize her own experience—and gives the people beside her a deeper understanding of what it can mean to heal.
Gillian Lichota, The Naked Truth
Presenting Sponsor
Help lead the 2027 tournament during iRise Above’s tenth anniversary year.
- Premier recognition
- Dedicated activation opportunity
- A team of six players
Decade Partner
Mark iRise Above’s ten-year anniversary alongside the women it serves.
- Featured anniversary recognition
- Prominent event visibility
- Activation opportunity
- Four player entries
Supporting Sponsor
$5,000- Event recognition
- Activation opportunity
- One player entry
Community Sponsor
$2,500- Event recognition
- Digital recognition
Custom Sponsorship
Supporting the tournament at a different level, or in a specific way? We’ll shape a sponsorship around your company.
Let’s talkIn-kind event support
Can your company contribute goods or services? Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll talk through the tournament’s needs and how to recognize your support.
iRise Above Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN: 82-3157631. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. The value of player entries or other benefits may reduce the deductible amount.
TEN YEARS RISING.
HELP SHAPE WHAT COMES NEXT.
For ten years, sponsors have helped iRise Above create spaces where thousands of young women can find connection, courage, and new ways to live well during and after breast cancer. Their support has traveled far beyond the rink—into workshops, writing circles, healing journeys, and the lives of the people beside those women.
In our tenth anniversary year, we invite longtime partners to see what we have built together and new partners to help carry it forward. Join us at the Northern Roots Pond Hockey Charity Classic and be part of what rises next.
Find out more at Jackpocket.com
Find out more at archgroup.com
Thank you to our past sponsors
THE REACH OF HEALING
Breast cancer reshapes the everyday life of a family. A partner wonders how to stay close as intimacy shifts. A friend wants to help but struggles to find the right words. A child senses uncertainty, even when the adults are trying to protect her from it. At the center is a young woman navigating those relationships while learning what she needs for herself.
When she has the knowledge, tools, experiences, and community to heal and live well, the experience of breast cancer can change for those who share her life. Questions once held in silence can be spoken. Loved ones can better understand what she needs and find ways to care for one another amid uncertainty. Her healing belongs to her, but the support she receives extends outward. That is the ripple effect at the heart of iRise Above.
WHERE WE RISE,
BY LIFTING OTHERS
To discuss a partnership
Gillian Lichota
Founder and CEO, iRise Above Foundation
Tell us which level fits, or what you’d like to build together. Gillian will help shape a sponsorship that works for your company.