September 9th is Awareness Day!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RECRUITING AND RAISING AWARENESS TO FIND A CURE FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER‘Friends of Allie’ Kicks Off Recruitment Drive Benefiting
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk
DALLAS, TX – Friends of Allie (FOA), the largest friends and family Light The Night® Walk team raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, will kick off a recruiting and fundraising drive with its second annual nationwide Awareness Day on September 9, 2006 at locations across North America.
In addition to signing up Light The Night walkers and teams, raising money and increasing awareness of the Society, the team also hopes to be a step closer to placing its name on a pediatric research grant awarded by the Society. In order to achieve this naming opportunity, the team must raise at least $100,000 for the 2006 Light The Night Walk.
The national goal for this team of more than 1,600 walkers is $312,000, an amount that would bring its total for three Light The Night Walk seasons to more than $1 million.
FOA is excited to participate in this year’s Awareness Day and to raise awareness and money towards a pediatric research grant and patient services.
“Our passion is to raise awareness for childhood cancer and the need to find a cure for our children’s and grandchildren’s generation. Awareness Day helps us reach out to our communities and make a difference for families stricken with blood cancers. We are thankful for each person who stops to learn more about blood cancers, donates towards our cause, or commits to walk or help,” says Jennifer Burgess, National Public Relations Director for FOA.
FOA raised over $688,300 in just 15 months to support the Society’s mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
To walk with or sponsor FOA, please contact Name at email and/or phone number. Email inquiries to locate a local FOA team to Lynette at teamcaptainrelations@friendsofallie.org.
About Friends of Allie
FOA is the largest national Friends and Family Team for Light The Night Walk. Motivated by the plight of Allie and other children battling blood cancers like her, a grassroots movement emerged shortly after Allie’s passing, resulting in the formation of FOA and its unprecedented fundraising efforts for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. FOA enlarged its scope to include affiliate teams—both corporate and Friends and Family teams—who share their passion for finding a cure for pediatric blood cancers and making a difference in the lives of families stricken by pediatric blood cancer.
For more information, please visit: www.friendsofallie.org
About Light The Night Walk
Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s nationwide annual evening fundraising walk, held each fall to celebrate and commemorate people whose lives have been touched by cancer. Proceeds from the Walk advance the Society’s efforts to find cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, and to provide education and services for patients with these diseases and their families. Participants walk a short distance, carrying lighted balloons—white for survivors and red for supporters. Dedication banners provide an opportunity to display a name or message, honoring or commemorating a family member or friend with cancer.
Light The Night is open to all—it does not require a particular level of fitness. In 2005, thousands of people in approximately 250 communities in the United States and Canada participated in a Light The Night Walk event, raising nearly $26 million for research and patient services.
For more information, please visit: www.lightthenight.org
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Friends of Heroes is a national Light the Night Friends and Family team. We are comprised of moms, dads, families and friends compelled to help find a cure for blood cancers.
