Dear Friends,
I want to take a few minutes of your time to provide you with an update on the very successful Manahawkin Relay for Life event and Saturday LBI BBQ.
Relay Wrap-Up:
The American Cancer Society is still tallying the final statistics but numbers will not change that drastically from today. I couldn’t be more proud of our teams and the outstanding accomplishments listed below.
- David’s Dream and Believers were the only team out of 66 teams to reach Jade Level. That is reserved for teams raising $10,000.00 or more.
- David’s Dream & Believers fundraised 10% of the total amount for the Relay. Don’t forget that is after DD&BCF split the donations with the American Cancer Society. The ACS local chapter – Manahawkin Relay for Life generated $105,000.00 as of 6/5/2011.
- David’s Dream & Believers comprised 10% of the participant total. Manahawkin Relay for Life had 588 registered participants with DD&BCF being 60+ strong of that total and that does not include the 20+ children.
- David’s Dream & Believers were responsible for placing 7 individual fundraisers in the top 20 for the Manahawkin Relay for Life including the top spot overall.
- David’s Dream & Believers hung 17 business-sponsored banners around the track supporting DD&BCF and ACS.
- American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network or ACS CAN set a goal for the Manahawkin Relay to sign up 10 individuals to join the Cancer Action Network. David’s Dream & Believers signed up 12 new members.
- Lastly, we were the One and Only team to have a walker on the track for the entire duration of the Relay from 7pm until 6:30am. I was proud and honored to share that milestone with my brother Tim Hall. That was after he ran an 11-mile warm-up between midnight and 2am with our fellow team member Greg Wattis.
Saturday June 4th LBI Celebration BBQ:
The Saturday BBQ on LBI was fantastic. The positive vibe that surrounded the bbq could only be compared to the feeling I’ve gotten prior to a race. It was a tremendous celebration with family, friends and even some of my medical team. Dr. Cognetti and his wonderful family made the trek to LBI and I even got to do a lap with him on the track Friday night at the Relay. Dave Romanofski (Cell Block B guard) and radiation therapist was in attendance at the Relay with his wife Lora and Dave served as the “Grill Master for the entire BBQ! Guy Calcerano, Executive Director of Development at Kimmel Cancer Center, TJUH attended the Relay festivities and stayed to enjoy the BBQ. Ivette Giordano attended the bbq with her daughter Jenn. Ivette was my amazing nurse during my first kidney stone bout at SOCH.
Thank you to the volunteers that helped make the entire weekend an overwhelming success. Thank you to all our supporters and very generous donors who came from near and far (NJ, NY, PA, MD, VA, KY, NC, SC, FL, AZ, IL, CO, OR & TX). Lastly, Thank you for your continued support for DD&BCF!
The Foundation already has an individual recipient lined up for our next gift contribution. The gift contribution will be made next Thursday and more details to follow later next week. The Foundation is alive and kicking stronger than ever. We truly are “Saving Lives by Fighting Cancer Together!”
Dream and Believe,
David