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Purpose/Mission:
To save lives and defeat prostate cancer through support, education and advocacy, and to raise awareness of prostate cancer blue -- as pink is to breast cancer, blue is to prostate cancer.
Goals:
To hold a fun-filled, family-oriented awareness even which provides no cost, day-of-event prostate cancer PSA screenings, and raises money to benefit the men and family members who are helped by the free prostate cancer support and education services provided by Us TOO International, the Us TOO volunteer-led support groups/chapter and the Wellness Place.
History:
The 5th Annual 2009 Greater Chicago SEA Blue Prostate Walk has a history of community volunteer leadership, persistence and dedication. Its three co-founders, Myrna Porter, Shirley Grey and Russ Gould, were all active in the suburban Chicago Don Johnson chapter of Us TOO International. Myrna and Shirley's husbands, Stu and Herb, like Russ, shared a common battle with their advance metastatic prostate cancer and this united them in a common cause...to raise awareness and money to fight back!
Myrna, a breast cancer survivor and the co-founder of the Wellness Place, Cancer Education and Support in Barrington (a cancer center that worked closely with the Us TOO chapter) partnered with Shirley, the founder of the local chapter's Partners support group, and Russ, the local chapter leader and the Us TOO International Board of Directors' Vice-Chairman at the time. They won support from both organizations and led an annual event that showed outstanding success over the past four years. In 2009, the event will go on, led by co-chairmen Greg Bielawski and James Branch, both prostate cancer survivors. Although Herb lost his prostate cancer fight in September 2008, Stu and Russ continue their battle and the founders continue their active roles in the event and in the two organizations.
As in previous years, this event will be a co-venture between Wellness Place, Cancer Education and Support and Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education & Support Network. Funds raised will be shared between Wellness Place and Us TOO International for patient support and awareness programming in the Chicagoland area. Both are 501(c)3 non-profit organizations.
Unlike breast cancer, it is only recently that prostate cancer survivors, their families and friends have become proactive in seeking increased awareness and funding for their cause. Your assistance with 2009 Greater Chicago SEA Blue Prostate Walk is critical and only the beginning of great things to come. Thousands of survivors, friends and family members will gain assistance and many lives will be saved.
Accomplishments:
In the past four years this event has raised $1.3 million for prostate cancer support, education, awareness and research.
Since its inception, the event has provided hundreds of free prostate cancer screenings and funded:
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- a series of prostate cancer symposiums featuring world-renowned presenters
- several Chicago-area research projects
- a continuing medical education session for physicians
- an Us TOO University session for volunteer support group leaders
- new prostate-specific services such as a state-of-the-art prostate cancer resource center, family and individual counseling sessions, group education events and fitness services at the Wellness Place. |
How Event Proceeds Are Used
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