Cheer for a Cure Tops Kiwanis Meeting
It’s worth cheering for. The board that makes up the non profit, White County Cheer for a Cure talked to Kiwanis Thursday afternoon. Lacey Moore, Jennifer O’Daniel, Kandy Masterson and Amy Rice each took turns at the microphone to inform club members on the founding and growth of the organization and how it makes a difference in the lives of community members.
It was 8 years ago this month when Moore, who was still the head coach for the High School cheer team received a call from the Stella Burtz organization inviting her to host a cheer for a cure competition. It was designed to raise money for cancer as well as serve as a fundraiser. Shortly after that, Moore’s mother in law was diagnosed with a brain cancer that took her life shortly after, which made it personal Moore says.
Though the money raised goes to cancer research, and Moore agrees that’s so important.
That led to the group doing it on their own the next year, they raised the same $25,000 and were able to keep 100% of it for use locally. Thanks to the help of Nancy J Winter, CPA, the group was able to file as an official non profit organization.
O’Daniel calls the event really fun, a positive beyond it being a fundraiser. And it’s big…it takes more than 50 individuals to serve as helpers, or what she calls, Volun-CHEERS, to pull the event off annually.
Masterson thanked the sponsors, calling them the backbone of the endeavor.
Finally, Amy Rice talked about how first hand the event helps. Her daughter, Megan has battled leukemia and has been helped by the organization. She talks about how expensive it is just to treat a loved one with cancer beyond the things that insurance pays
This year’s Cheer for a Cure is scheduled for January 26th from 9am – 2pm. It’s a day full of fun that costs just $5 to enjoy. You can listen to the entire talk from the ladies in the local news section of our website, wrul.com. Reporting, I’m Jc Tinsley.
The entire presentation is available in On Demand Audio form in the local news section at wrul.com. It’s just under 20 minutes and definitely worth a listen.
Also at the meeting, 2nd Quarter 2nd Grade Most Valuable Bulldogs were honored. Key Clubbers were also recognized for their attendance and assistance. The Kiwanis Club helped with the Salvation Army bell ringing at Wal Mart last weekend and the club raised more than $2,500 during their 2 day stint.
Beth Conner also addressed the club briefly to talk about the PAWS program. PAWS stands for Providing Awesome Wishes for Students. It’s a 5 year old program that began after Conner helped a transfer student from Florida that was unprepared for winter in Southern Illinois. She found there were many others in our area that could use assistance and the program has grown over the years, helping 170 students this year.
