CLOSED- Please see the new 2024 MLPC Pottery Marathon Page

In January 2018, I lost my grandfather Thomas Long at the age of 77 to pancreatic cancer. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and a well-known small business owner in Cortland, NY, he was a fixture in his community and the anchor of my extended family.

In September 2022, my roommate Thomas McClelland lost his uncle Mitchell Quint at age 53 after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer.

As we sat in our room reminiscing over the good times we had with these role models, Tommy and I came to a simple conclusion: Pancreatic cancer was unfair and something had to change. Unlike other cancers that can be caught early on and treated effectively, pancreatic cancer is often discovered late in its disease process. The lack of early warning signs and screening tests has led pancreatic cancer to become one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. The five-year survival rate of this disease is just 11%.

As I sat in my ceramics class the next day, I couldn't stop thinking about how eerily similar our families' experiences with pancreatic cancer were. For both of us, the disease progressed much faster than we could make sense of it in our heads. It felt like one moment everything was fine, and the next, we had lost someone we had looked up to for years. As I trimmed a cereal bowl that day in class, an idea struck me: what if I could in some way focus my newfound hobby to make money and raise awareness for pancreatic cancer research? Here, the Pottery for Pancreatic Cancer Marathon was born.

On October 28th at 4:00 I will begin my 24-hour marathon of throwing, trimming, and glazing ceramic pieces in the Notre Dame ceramic studio. I plan to finish as many high-quality mugs, bowls, and vases as possible during this event, and ask that you donate to this page for a chance to win some of my work. Every dollar donated will go directly to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Please keep in mind that I am not a professional potter, just a college student who has taken up a love for ceramics.

For additional information on this event feel free to follow along on Instagram @MattLongPotteryCo

For more information on the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, feel free to visit Lustgarten Foundation Home Page

** As per GoFundMe terms of service no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to this campaign**