Southern Baptist churches around the state are among the largest and most dedicated supporters of the American Cancer Society Relay For Life. I would like to personally say thank you to those who are involved with Relay For Life and finding a cure! The stories below are examples of the hope and spirit of Relay teams across South Carolina.
Recently I attended an end-of-the-year celebration for Relay For Life of Sumter County. Lewis Chapel Baptist Church participated in the event this year for the first time and raised more than $12,000. Team captain Darlene Prescott said it was a lot of fun and they enjoyed the friendly competition between the young adult classes and the older adult classes. It turns out the group that raised the most money had to prepare breakfast for the other group. This fundraiser raised a little more than $6,000, and they had a great time. Darlene is a cancer survivor and lost her husband to cancer. She and her daughter decided to form a team at their church, and she was thrilled with the support they received and how much it brought their church together.
There are eight Southern Baptist churches that participate in Relay For Life in Darlington County: Kelleytown, West Hartsville, Lakeview, Cornerstone, North Hartsville, Antioch, South Hartsville, and Mt. Olivet. These churches always have a friendly competition to see who can raise the most support for Relay For Life. This year, Lakeview Baptist won, raising close to $13,000. Antioch Baptist is known for the best funnel cakes around the county, thanks to member Kim Cranford. Cancer survivor support group leaders and survivor chairs Evelyn Dampier of Cornerstone Baptist and Edna Sims of Lakeview Baptist give so much more than mere donations to the American Cancer Society. These ladies are survivors and warriors. They counsel newly diagnosed patients, and have spent many hours on the phone listening to patients and many hours on their knees praying for these patients. If there is a cancer patient in Darlington County, they have been lifted up in prayer by Evelyn and Edna.
Elizabeth Owens from Andrews First Baptist Church in Georgetown County wins the team spirit award! They had their entire youth group involved in Relay For Life. During a time when our youth can be so many other places, this group chose to be a part of the fight against cancer. One of their top fundraisers was the Jail and Bail, in which “locked up” members were released only when donations were made to Relay. They are probably best known for the Relay Beauty Queen project, in which the youth were given a bag of random items to create a “beauty queen,” and they went all out – using tablecloths, hair curlers, and even aluminum foil. The team raised a little more than $3,700 in the fight against cancer and took home the Team Spirit Award for Relay For Life of Andrews.
Dory Richardson from First Baptist Church, Myrtle Beach, raised more than $4,000 with the support of her church family. She is a skin cancer survivor who recently lost her brother to cancer. She is a fighter and is dedicated to Relay. If the community has a need, Dory is the person to call. She is involved not only in Relay For Life, but also many other service organizations – yet she still has time for the fight against cancer. She recently agreed to serve as the Relay For Life Event Chair for the 2009 Relay For Life of Myrtle Beach. It will be exciting to see what Dory and her church family have in store for 2009.
Emma Crump is from the small community of Silverstreet near Newberry. She and her husband, Richard Crump (pastor of Renwick Grove Baptist and Little Beaver Dam Baptist), formed a team called 50 Friends. Each year, Emma and Richard spend one month speaking with local churches about Relay For Life. This year, their team raised more than $17,000! They donate the money to the American Cancer Society because they are determined to help find a cure. Emma and Richard participate in the RFL of Newberry County and have been strong supporters for more than five years now. Ask anyone where Silverstreet is and they probably could not tell you, but if you ask them where they could find Emma Crump they would tell you to look in one of the churches in the area. She will be there talking about the American Cancer Society.
The mission of the American Cancer Society is based on our volunteers. Our vast network of volunteer-staff partnerships has established the American Cancer Society as the largest community-based voluntary health organization in the world. South Carolina Southern Baptist churches are part of our volunteer network, and our volunteers are the core strength which empowers everything we do. Thank you to all of the churches who support the American Cancer Society.
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service. You can learn more about Relay For Life events near you by visiting www.screlayforlife.org.
Beth Johnson
American Cancer Society
Community Income Manager
Serving Clarendon, Darlington,
Lee, and Sumter Counties
beth.johnson@cancer.org
office and cell: 803-673-2643
fax: 843-383-2725
500 Amerson St., Hartsville, 29550
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