Oregon-Davis Fundraisers Raise Thousands for American Cancer Society, Just in Case Foundation

The Oregon-Davis School community is stepping up in the fight against cancer and sudden infant death syndrome. Superintendent Bill Bennett says last month’s benefit for the Just in Case Foundation proved successful. “The Just in Case Foundation was started by one of our teachers who unfortunately lost one of their twins to SIDS,” Bennett explains, “and as a community, we raised $12,000 to help launch that foundation.”

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Relay for Life of Starke County to Feature Silent Auction, Kids Games and More

Join the Relay for Life of Starke County this Saturday to honor cancer survivors and their caregivers and to commemorate loved ones who have passed away.

From noon until midnight, Relayers will gather at the Starke County Fairgrounds in Hamlet to raise awareness while having fun in the process. This year’s theme is “Toonin’ Out Cancer.”

Event organizers have been working very hard to put together tomorrow’s event and it will be chock-full of fun activities for the whole family. Continue reading

Starke County Youth Club Radiothon Set for May 4

The Starke County Youth Club’s annual radiothon is less than a month a way. It’s a chance for residents to help the organization continue to provide its after-school, summer, and recreational programs across the county. “We’re usually there after school for three hours, making sure kids have a safe place to be, making sure they get help with their homework and their academic needs,” says Executive Director Irene Szakonyi, “and then expanding on that, so kids get exposure to other cultures. They learn about technology and robotics, and maybe they’re even learning to cook and having a workforce readiness or life skill.” Continue reading

Culver Relay for Life Set for Tonight

 
 

The Culver Relay for Life event kicks off today with the survivor dinner at 5 p.m. ET on the campus of the Culver Military Academy.

The committee has been working hard to bring in more donations to help fight cancer. So far, 39 teams with 349 participants have raised $27,741 toward the cause. More donations will be accepted during the event that runs through Saturday morning at 6 a.m.

Several fundraisers are planned throughout the evening.

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Starke County Relay for Life Gets Under Way Today

 
 

Starke County’s annual Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society gets under way today at noon at the Hamlet Fairgrounds. Organizers of the 18-hour event hope to raise $67,000 this year. Ericka Taylor-Joseph is in charge of fundraising. She says Starke County’s event consistently raises more money than those held in larger communities. Teams range in size from just a few members to 30 or more. Taylor-Joseph says while organizers would like each team to have a participant on the track at all times, it’s not a requirement.  Continue reading

Oregon-Davis Students Surpass Mini-Relay Goal

20140530_134900Each year the Oregon-Davis School Corporation does their part for cancer research by collecting donations for the American Cancer Society.

Elementary school special education teacher Roberta Salyer is responsible for starting the program and for keeping it running for ten years now. Last year the school raised $1,200 for ACS. This year their goal was $1500. Classrooms had donation jars in them over the last few weeks and people could make donations at yesterday’s mini relay for life.

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Great American Smoke Out Urged Americans to Drop the Habit

 
 
The American Cancer Society’s 38th Great American Smoke Out was held yesterday, when Starke County residents were encouraged to drop the habit in celebration of the event. Brittany Ward, a respiratory therapist at IU Health Starke Hospital, said even though the event is over, now is still the perfect time to quit.

“According to the American Cancer Society, the Great American Smoke Out is held on the third Thursday in November. During this day, smokers across the nation make a plan to quit or plan in advance to quit smoking today. It challenges people to stop using tobacco and makes people aware of the many tools and resources they can use to quit for good,” Ward said.

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Affordable Care Act Offers Options for Breast Cancer Patients, Survivors

 
 
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is almost at an end. This year’s observance marks a major shift, as more women will be able to access the health care they need. Matt Schafer works for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He says under the Affordable Care Act, women cannot be denied coverage because of a preexisting condition such as breast cancer.

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North Judson Resident Walking 2079 Miles Encouraging ACS Donations

  
 
A North Judson man set off this weekend on a soul-searching journey across the country with the hopes of raising funds for the American Cancer Society in the process. Wes Carter, 22, began a 2079-mile walk Saturday evening around 7 p.m., heading toward San Diego – an on-foot journey that he expects to take roughly two months.

His journey soon turned into more than just a very long walk as he decided to contact ACS, turning the adventure into something more. Carter’s family had been touched by cancer, and he decided that raising awareness and encouraging donations to ACS along their trip was something he needed to do.

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Oregon-Davis Students to Hold Mini Relay for Life

The Oregon-Davis students will host a Mini-Relay to raise money in the fight against cancer.

Students will be collecting money from now until the day of the event, May 18th. The students will walk on the school grounds in the abbreviated version of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. The Mini-Relay will be an all-day event complete with music, games, class banners, and luminaria bags decorated by the students in memory or in honor of a family member or friend with cancer.

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Great American Smokeout is This Thursday

The Great American Smokeout is this Thursday, November 17th.

The American Cancer Society encourages you to quit smoking and this date can be used as the first day of smoking cessation or you can make November 17th a day to start thinking about quitting.

The current smoking rate in Indiana for adults is 21.2 percent which is above the national average of 20.6 percent. The cost to Indiana for smoking-related disease is $2.08 billion with $487 million covered by the state Medicaid program. About 9,700 adults die each year in Indiana from smoking.