Providing help and support to the residents of Big Stone County, and their families, who are battling cancer

Friday, January 29, 2010

Am I becoming a stalker?

I hope not ... but for those of you that don't know me it may seem like I've been in your face a lot lately. My motive is pure. We have a great local cancer support group, but it seems to me that our communication is lacking, and my hope is to set up a system for us to gather & share information.
If you are not a Facebook member, you probably haven't heard that we now have both a Facebook page, and are set up as a cause on Facebook. The "page" is just a place where you can post announcements, questions, comments, or pictures. The cause is actually a place that you can make donations online. I am very pleased to see that the numbers at both places are growing every day.
My concern is that I haven't been able to link the two areas, and I don't want anyone to miss important information. Vickie Oakes, who is very knowledgable about all things internet , suggested that I use a blog as a common ground for all the information. So voila ... we now have a blog! I haven't quite worked it all out yet - for instance the cute count down clock doesn't want to set for me - but it's a start. I'm just figuring this out as I go along, so any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
  I'm hoping that the little ticker (if I can get it running) will serve as a reminder to everyone that the 2010 Walk of Hope will be here before we know it, and it's time to get our collective butts together & start raising some money. I think it would be fun to have pictures of each team here, with a little blurb about their fund raising efforts. If you're on a team, let me know what you're up to. If more people are aware of the various fund raising activities pehaps we can raise more money!
  Our next meeting is scheduled for February, but as far as I know the actual date has not been set. It will be a potluck dinner, and a speaker from the Masonic Cancer Research Center at the University of Minnesota. The topic will be to do with prostate cancer, and everyone is invited to join. Hopefully I will have more details soon.
  There is a spot at the end of each post where you can make comments ... I'd love to hear from you!

And the media blitz continues ...

Greetings:
  We would like to introduce ourselves. We are a nonprofit public charity organized for the purpose of offering financial support to the residents of Big Stone County who are victims of cancer and to their families. We do not receive any compensation for our efforts - we are volunteers who care about the citizens of our county. The funds we raise are distributed as follows:
    25% to cancer research
    65% to citizens of Big Stone County who need assistance with medical or other expenses not covered   
            by insurance, such as
                *gas cards
                * lodging when traveling for treatments or doctor visits
                * prescriptions
                * Ensure (nutritional suppliments)
                * deductables for medical bills
    10% to expenses of the group in organizing the annual Walk of Hope. If we do not use the full 10% for these expenses, any extra is used for those who have need.