Flamingos Raise Money for Relay for Life
Alma College faculty and staff members are paying to invade their
colleagues’ campus offices with flamingos to raise money for the
American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
The fundraiser is just one way the Alma College community is getting
involved with Relay for Life. The College has a faculty and staff team
and 36 student teams registered for the 24-hour walk, which will take
place from 10 a.m. Feb. 9 to 10 a.m. Feb. 10 at the Stone Recreation
Center.
“Two
of my friends are currently fighting cancer, and when I signed up to be
only a participant three years ago I couldn't help but do more,” says
DeWitt senior Sami Spedoske, coordinator for the College’s student
Relay for Life teams. “This is how I honor the millions of survivors
and those who have lost the battle.”
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 1.5 million people
nationwide were diagnosed with cancer in 2007, of which 55,000 were in
Michigan. About 560,000 people died of cancer nationwide in 2007.
Alma College Associate Professor of Mathematics Robert Molina and his
late wife, Brenda, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer, initially
started the faculty and staff team. The annual walk raised about
$32,000 in 2007 and about $30,000 in 2006.
“This is my third Relay for Life walk,” says Mary Lou Ecken, Alma’s
career planning coordinator. “ I like to be involved in events that
make a difference.”
“My husband's grandfather fought cancer most of his life, and in 2002
he lost the battle,” says Cassie Tennant, an accountant in the
College’s Business Office. “However, my grandfather is a survivor of
cancer. Working for a pharmacy in West Branch, I admired the attitudes
and personalities of many patients, even though they were fighting the
hardest battle of their lives.”
Faculty
and staff initiated the flamingo fundraiser. Sending a flamingo to a
campus office costs $2, and having one removed costs $5. Decorations
such as sunglasses and other accessories can bee added to a flamingo
for $1, and $10 insurance can be purchased to block flamingos from
invading an office.
Information about participating in or donating to Relay for Life can be found on the Alma College Relay for Life Web site or by contacting Spedoske at 08sisped@alma.edu.
Posted: Wed, January 16th, 2008 at 3:23PM
