Kean Education Graduate Advances Daughter’s Legacy: Raising Money for Cancer Research
Kean University alumni Mark Macaluso and Sandy Goodman volunteer with Cycle for Survival, a charity co-founded by Goodman’s daughter, Jennifer Goodman Linn, to support research into rare cancers.
Sandy Goodman turned a lifetime of hard work, dedication and resilience into academic success at Kean University. Today, she channels that same determination into honoring the legacy of her late daughter, Jennifer Goodman Linn, who co-founded Cycle for Survival – the official rare cancer fundraiser of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) – more than 15 years ago.
Goodman, who earned an M.A. in elementary education from Kean in 1986, and her husband are now volunteers with the charitable organization Jennifer helped launch in 2007 before succumbing to sarcoma at age 40.
“She said, ‘Think big. We can make it happen,’” Goodman said. “Since then, we’ve raised nearly $400 million for rare cancer research.”
Run and staffed by MSK, the nonprofit directs 100% of donations to research and shares findings with the broader scientific community. Founded by Jennifer and her husband, Dave Linn, Cycle for Survival hosts fundraising events at Equinox gyms in 15 U.S. cities, where volunteer spin cyclers and entertainers gather to express both heartbreak and hope.
“This is Jennifer’s legacy, and we promised her we would never abandon it,” Goodman said. “It's bittersweet but wonderful, because in speaking to groups, schools and companies around the country, we meet fascinating people, and it keeps us sharp while we're doing something for mankind.”
Mark Macaluso, who earned a B.S. in marketing and business administration from Kean in 1981, got involved with Cycle for Survival 13 years ago after losing his daughter to a rare cancer, and he’s seen Goodman in action.
“Sandy pours her heart, soul, passion and finesse into getting people to join the battle against cancer, and her genuine warmth and kindness make staying in that battle an absolute pleasure,” he said. “The countless families whose loved ones have benefited from this organization’s incredible fundraising efforts owe so much to Sandy and her family.”
Katie Klein, vice president of development programs at MSK, where a research laboratory is dedicated to Jennifer Goodman Linn, lauded Jennifer’s parents as a driving force behind the success of Cycle for Survival.
“Sandy’s dedication to supporting Memorial Sloan Kettering through Cycle for Survival is unmatched,” Klein said. “She continues to honor her late daughter Jennifer’s extraordinary legacy by dedicating countless hours to sharing information about Cycle for Survival and fundraising through her team to support rare cancer research at MSK. We’re forever grateful to her and her husband, Len, for their passion, creativity, kindness and endless support.”
Goodman believes it was her teaching skills that prepared her to speak at Cycle for Survival events. In addition to her Kean degree, Goodman earned a B.A. in education from Trenton State College in 1965 and taught in Newark, Livingston and Summit.
“I learned to stand on my feet and speak my mind and yet be a listening ear,” she said, “as well as to have respect for all kinds of people.”
Goodman especially enjoyed her first job in her hometown, Newark, recalling that her students “taught me more than I taught them about love and culture and living.”
Another highlight was getting sent to Siberia for about a month by the State Department as part of a Hands Across the Water delegation. There, Goodman lived with a host family and shared her perspective on the American educational system, lifestyle and goals.
Pat Ippolito, Kean’s faculty athletics representative, was thrilled to present Goodman and her husband with the Livingston UNICO’s Citizen of the Year Award in 2017 and remains impressed by their accomplishments.
“I noted then that they have honored the courage and commitment of their daughter, Jennifer, through their continued dedication to combating specialized cancers through Cycle for Survival,” Ippolito said. “That alone is a significant achievement that takes much of their time and energy, but they also volunteer for numerous community and state programs. Sandy and Len truly embody the motto ‘service above self.’”