Our featured member today is breast cancer survivor L’Tanya Bell, one of my “back of the line” sisters.
L'Tanya Bell wearing that signature smile
L’Tanya is one of those women whose sweet smile and soft voice hides a quiet but steady strength. A hug from L’Tanya always centers me and make me feel at peace.
I was sorry to have missed her member minute a couple of weeks ago but wanted to give her a shout-out on the blog.
Please visit L’Tanya’s FirstGiving page and support her training.
We’re starting a new feature this week that we’ll call Friday Foto. Each week, I’ll pick my favorite of the photos that Anne Washburn has uploaded to our Flickr site and ask y’all to submit captions for it.
This week’s selection is in honor of all of us who braved that wind last Saturday. I have no idea who this is — if anyone knows, do tell! Whoever it was had the right idea on cold weather training apparel.
Leave your caption suggestions below in the comments section. Don’t forget to check out Anne’s great shots on Flickr and if you see photos there you’d like to nominate for Friday Foto, let me know by clicking on the Share Your Story tab. Just cut the URL for the photo from Flickr and paste into the URL field. Thanks!
This week, our guest post is by Kellie Givens “as told to Cynthia Manley.”
Kellie Givens
I had the honor of spending a while with Kellie at the Clubhouse a couple of weeks ago hearing about her mother, Connie, who was diagnosed in early 2008 with stage 4 colon cancer. She was 57.
Connie had put off a colonoscopy for some time while she was busy getting coordinated health programs in public schools in all 95 counties of Tennessee. Kellie considers that accomplishment her mother’s legacy.
Here’s what Kellie told me about the impact that Gilda’s Club and its Friends and Family Support Group had on her life and why she’s walking the Country Music Half Marathon as part of Gilda’s Gang:
We had passed by, seeing the red door and wondering what it was two or three times a week, never realizing I’d be walking in there for services.
My mom was feeling fine one day and the next day, she got the news and she was in treatment within a week. We were all kind of pushed into it.
At Gilda’s Club, I was able to unload. It was a place where you could say anything about your feelings. You didn’t have to always be positive. You could give the good bad and the ugly. There was no judgment.
It was also important to get others’ thoughts and perspectives. It helped me be a better advocate for her care. She’d always been our advocate. It was my turn to step in.
I’ve never been asked for a dollar so this was a great way for me to give back. I want Gilda’s Club to be here for others who need it when they are thrust into it. I know where the money is going. It stays here at Gilda’s Club.
By doing Gilda’s Gang, I can give back and keep my mom’s spirit alive.
Kellie's mom, Connie
Kellie, thank you for sharing your story with me and our readers. And thank you for your smiling face every Saturday morning. You are a mood-changer for me when I see that smile, and I’m sure other Gang members feel the same way.
Here’s a link to Kellie’s First Giving page. Doesn’t Kellie look like her mom!?
This is the third and final installment in a series of posts about fund-raising.
In the first two posts, we covered online and email fund-raising activity.
Of course, not everyone uses email and social media, so you’ll want to consider other fund-raising ideas that aren’t digital, such as snail mail letters and cards, in-person conversations and events like bake sales or dinner parties, etc. If you do something fun like a fund-raising dinner party, you want to be sure to promote it in your online and email efforts too.
The idea is to use all your social networks, whether online or in “real life,” to tell your Gilda’s Gang story and ask for support.
Every time you tell the story, you raise awareness of Gilda’s Club and the need for emotional and psychosocial support for cancer survivors, family and friends. That’s an important goal, too.
And even if someone can’t support you with a donation, they can support you by spreading the word through their own networks. Don’t be afraid to ask them to pass the message along.
So … what are you finding is working in your fund-raising? Tips to share that I’ve missed? Please share them in the comments below.
