That is only the scratching the surface of their many services to their patients. Some of their other services include: transportation grants that help patients make it to appointments; volunteers that go with patients to visits for moral support; the Look Good Feel Good Program, in which a volunteer cosmetologist helps patients learn to apply makeup and utilize wigs; college scholarships, and government lobbying such as the Clean Indoor Air Act and currently the focus is on TennCare.
Moving into the lighting ceremony, each person present was asked to light a candle if they were a cancer survivor or if they had a family member or friend that had either survived or was lost to cancer. Some candles were lit from the votive candle representing a light along the way in the Cancer Society, and others were lit from the light of others as a reminder that we have each other to depend on and light the way.
After the ceremony, Cindy Stephenson, chairperson for this year's Relay, told everyone present about the events to come and encouraged everyone to gather teams together. She noted that last year they raised a total of $34,000. This year's goal is $50,000. In order to reach their goal, the society is encouraging anyone interested to form teams and participate in the relay. Each team needs to consist of 8-15 people and must raise $1,000. during a fundraiser that they must come up with themselves. There is a $10. dollar registration fee per person on the teams.
Cindy told the group how the relay gives the community an opportunity to band together and help in the fight against cancer. The relays last for 24 hours because cancer never sleeps. By having a representative from the team on the track all night, each team shows their support in saying that we will not sleep until we find a cure.
This year's Relay for Life will be held on August 26 at the Harrogate City Park. The opening ceremony will begin at 6 pm. Teams are encouraged to put together booths and fundraisers during the Relay that will last until the next morning at 6 am. Throughout the night, there will be lots of fun and entertainment for adults and kids alike.
Anyone interested in having a team needs to have a team leader at some of the team leader meetings. These meetings will occur every second Monday of the month until the Relay. The first meeting will be held on Monday, March 14, at 5:30 pm, in the Murray Alumni Lounge in the Library at Lincoln Memorial University. If a team forms after this date, no worries, new team leaders can jump on board at any of the meetings.
One of the most important fundraisers for this year's relay is the Hope Lights the Way project. When the sun goes down, the committee will light candles above the trail in white bags in order to light the walkway. Each bag will have a name on it of a person who has been lost to cancer, is currently fighting cancer, or is a cancer survivor. Members of the community are encouraged to purchase a bag for a $5 donation in honor of someone they know that has been or is a cancer patient.
Committee members this year were introduced at the meeting as follows: Cindy Stephenson - chairperson, Barbara Fultz - co-chair, Christy Graham - accounting chair, Cleo Bush - survivor's chair, Linda Hurst - team recruitment, and Elaine Smith - publications and publicity person.
For further information or any questions, contact Barbara Fultz at 869-3839 or Linda Hurst at 869-5151 or 566-3710.
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