The "Gift of Life" works with other local organizations to increase community
consciousness about cancer, in all its forms.
Sponsored by BASF FINA Petrochemicals, LP, and TOTAL Petrochemicals, Inc.,
Miracle Match for Life is a collaborative partnership of
LifeShare Blood
Centers, the
Gulf Coast Marrow Donor Program, and the "Gift of Life." Community
activist Mark Viator founded Miracle Match in 2001 following his wife Lori's
successful marrow match with an infant girl suffering from leukemia.
Miracle Match for Life's goal is to educate and promote awareness of the
critical need for marrow donors, blood donations, and cancer screening and
prevention in Southeast Texas. While it is important to enroll blood and marrow
donors of all ethnicities, the project places special emphasis on recruiting
participants who are African American because this population generally ranks
below other groups in the number of registered participants. In 2002, Miracle
Match initiated a grassroots campaign to reach the public by going into
individual neighborhoods and churches. Since that time, more than 4,750
Southeast Texans have registered as donors, nearly 900 of them African
American.
The "Gift of Life" makes available blood and bone marrow donation literature at
all outreach presentations conducted throughout the year. In addition, the
program highlights Miracle Match for Life and its goals (and provides donor
registration forms) with a permanent educational display at the Family Resource
Center located in the Charlton-Pollard neighborhood of Beaumont. The agency
also features regular articles on Miracle Match in its newsletter,
"Sharing the
Gift of Life," distributed to more than 15,000 individuals in Southeast Texas
and across the state and nation.
Annual Golf Tournament
Since 2003, Miracle Match for Life has hosted a successful annual community
golf tournament, the net proceeds of which are divided between its
collaborative partners, LifeShare Blood Centers, Gulf Coast Marrow Donor
Program and the "Gift of Life." In the past four years, Miracle Match has
donated $75,000 to the "Gift of Life," used to provide free mammograms and
prostate cancer screenings, as well as support the organization's general
operations.
Check out
Miracle Match for Life Photos
Making Memories was founded in 1998 by the mother/daughter team of Fran Hansen
and Anna Nelson of Oregon to grant wishes of women suffering from Stage IV
metastatic breast cancer. Its primary fundraiser, Brides Against Breast Cancer,
takes new and used wedding dresses donated by bridal shops, corporations, and
individuals, and sells them to brides across the country at hundreds to
thousands of dollars off the original price. Donated gowns that are damaged and
cannot be repaired and resold are sewn into queen-sized quilts and auctioned.
All proceeds benefit the organization's wish-granting service for terminal
breast cancer patients.
The foundation's newly developed Southern Region is operated by its Director,
Dee Appel, who understands first-hand the feelings of the people served by
Making Memories. Not only is she a survivor of cervical cancer, but she has
been battling breast cancer since 1996. After eight years of remission, Appel's
breast cancer metastasized, or spread, to her liver. In December 2004, she was
diagnosed in Stage IV. Last August, Making Memories granted Appel's wish for a
family vacation to Colorado.
New to Southeast Texas, Appel sought out fellow advocates in the fight against
breast cancer, and a bond between Making Memories and the "Gift of Life" was
formed. Together, the two organizations recently participated in the Bridal
Traditions Fair at the Beaumont Civic Center, encouraging breast health
awareness.
Over the past year, Making Memories' Southern Division has hosted five Brides
Against Breast Cancer showings in Texas: one in Austin, Dallas, and San
Antonio, and two in Houston.
Are you "Tough Enough to Wear Pink"? A sea of pink shirts topping jeans and
cowboy boots provided a resounding "yes" to the question at the YMBL's 61st
annual rodeo held May 4-6 at Ford Park arena. Prior to the event, the "Gift of
Life" hosted a reception in honor of the YMBL and audience members who wore
pink for the occasion. The organization donated $1.00 to the "Gift of Life" for
every rodeo fan wearing pink that night, contributing a total of $500 to the
program.
In addition to this donation, the YMBL has sponsored a mobile van site for
eight consecutive years, providing over 300 medically underserved women with
free breast cancer screenings and more than $40,000 for the "Gift of Life"
since 1998.
Established in 1917, the YMBL is comprised of 1,200 civic-minded community
leaders who work tirelessly year 'round for the good of the community. Proceeds
from their annual historic rodeo and Southeast Texas State Fair have benefited
countless non-profit organizations for decades.
The "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" campaign, with Wrangler as official sponsor,
has grown quickly throughout the United States as a popular way to promote
breast cancer awareness. All proceeds from Wrangler's official pink western
shirt are directed toward the initiative. The company also oversees the
production of "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" hats, bracelets, and rope stickers
being sold to help raise funds.
Learn more about the "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" campaign at
www.toughenoughtowearpink.com
Check out the
Tough Enough to Wear Pink Photos.