1/13 of the Way to My Goal

On March 15th, I launched Wendy's Eagles (WE). With 26 days yet to go before the Dallas Lymphomathon, my team is 1/13 of the way there. Now I have to ramp up my efforts.

Yesterday my husband and I hosted our spring barbeque for UT at Dallas honors students.  After the first round of burgers, I invited them to join Wendy's Eagles, focusing as much on the free food, music, comraderie, no studying or tests, door prizes and service hours credit as with the opportunity to raise awareness and donations for the Lymphoma Research Foundation." 

I have an ulterior motive in wooing students, beyond being a top fund-raiser. I want to teach these young people about survivorship.

 

My kids -- and their friends -- have known I’ve been in and out of treatment over the years. But the Lymphomathons have helped to broaden their perspective, teaching them about the role of research and the need for adequate funding. These 5K walks have provided a meaningful way to impress on them, "Instead of complaining about a problem, you can do something positive."

 

Last week my efforts were validated. One of my son's friends, who now attends college far away, wrote on my Facebook wall that she made a donation, concluding, “Once a Wendy’s Eagle, always a Wendy’s Eagle!”

 

Please help me teach these students by helping Wendy's Eagles reach our goal. Share this link with friends and family who might want the opportunity to honor someone with a ribbon.

Comments

[Kairol Rosenthal]

We had parallel experiences this weekend:

My friends threw a big Saturday night party - beer, wine, food, good conversation, maybe even some flirting. It was a group of people who were not cancer survivors, and were just out for a nice party.

For ten minutes during the party, everyone stopped and listened to me speak about young adult cancer awareness and how survival rates have not improved for 20 and 30-somethings in the last 30 years. They were captivated and concerned. I gave them literature (well, okay they bought lots of copies of my new book!) to give to their primary care physicians at their next check up, so that their docs can learn about early detection and psycho-social issues for young adults with cancer.

It was extremely thrilling to educate a whole new batch of people and get them excited about making a difference in young adult cancer care. Cancer conferences and traditional fundraisers can sometimes feel like preaching to the choir. It was fantastic to educate new people, and it didn't hurt that we all had fun sipping wine and hanging out.

Best,

Kairol
blog: http://everythingchangesbook.com/

[Wendy]

Dear Kairol,
Wonderful!
And I'm almost done reviewing the book ahead of yours in the stack on my desk. Looking forward to reading Everything Changes.
With hope, Wendy

[Ronni Gordon]

Dear Wendy,

Sounds like a wonderful project. Good luck with it. Also belated thanks for the donation to the LRF and for putting me on the Ribbon of Names. I'm very honored. I would have written sooner, but it's taking me a while to catch up with myself. And thanks again for your comments, which I read over and over. I think other people are doing the same thing.