Restaurants, shops and cultural venues along the Connective Corridor are now accepting passports.

The passports will allow Syracuse University students and area residents to participate in an initiative by the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of Central New York.

The fund will host the first-ever Baldwin Corridor Cultural Crawl, an event promoting venues along the Connective Corridor, April 25 and 26. Signs of Syracuse University’s participation as a partner began to surface Monday, when passports for the event went on sale at the Schine Student Center Box Office.

‘A lot of different people are hearing about the event. And it’s because the entire community came together to do this,’ said Elizabeth Baldwin, executive director of the fund.

The nonprofit is named for her mother, Carol Baldwin, who survived breast cancer after she was diagnosed in 1990.

‘People thank me, but seeing everyone come together like this is what makes me get up every day to help those who aren’t as healthy as I am,’ Baldwin said.

The crawl is set to take place along the Connective Corridor, with shops, businesses and venues downtown offering discounts, samples and activities to those who purchased event passports. Passports cost $10 with a student ID and $20 without.

Passports can be used at any of the approximately 40 participating venues, including Faegan’s Pub Café, Syracuse Stage, Syracuse Technology Garden, the Erie Canal Museum and Varsity Pizza. Passports stamped at five or more locations during the two days can be turned in for a chance to win a grand prize worth more than $2,500.

The crawl is scheduled to coincide with the Syracuse International Film Festival, which will be opened by actor Stephen Baldwin, Elizabeth Baldwin’s brother. Passports come with free admission to the film festival.

Syracuse University, State University of New York Upstate Medical University and National Grid are all partners in the crawl.

Eric Persons, director of community engagement and economic development for SU, said he can’t think of a better opportunity for celebrating what the city of Syracuse has to offer.

‘I think this is the first time the university, arts organizations and businesses have been working together in this fashion,’ he said. ‘We’re reaching out to develop stronger relationships with our neighbors, and we’re supporting a great cause.’

Melanie Littlejohn, regional executive director for National Grid, said support for the event is important because so many people are influenced, either directly or indirectly, by breast cancer.

‘(The crawl) illustrates our ability as a community to be connected by a common issue,’ she said. ‘It represents the heart and soul of who we are as a community. We reach out, we connect and people are willing to roll up their sleeves. It’s just huge.’

The fund hasn’t set an exact goal for how much money it wants to raise, but Baldwin said she has other goals. She hopes the crawl will showcase all Syracuse has to offer and work toward finding a cure for breast cancer.

‘My mother and I spend a lot of time with people diagnosed with breast cancer,’ she said. ‘We go to chemo treatments. We go doctors’ appointments. We go to mammograms. Planning events like (the crawl) is very rewarding, and I’m blessed that I get to do this every day. I feel as if I were chosen to do this.’

shmelike@syr.edu

Published on March 25, 2008 at 12:00 pm