CNH CKI's The Sunburst Volume 55, Issue 3 Volume 52, Issue #3 | Page 8

08 FEBRUARY 2013 service Every Step Counts: Strides to End Breast Cancer Madalyn Freeman UN Las Vegas The Strides to End Breast Cancer was and event that meant a lot to me. Roughly 30 years ago my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. My grandmother fought for six months before she had lost the battle. Although I was not yet born when this occurred my mother would always tell me stories about her and about how great of a person she was. It seemed cruel to know that such a gentle and genuine person could be a victim of such a ruthless and relentless disease. Since I was a young boy knowing of my grandmothers suffering, I had made a vow to do whatever it will take to help or aid to stop the murder of innocent people from this disease. Now with the actual event, I would say it was very successful. Although we had to wake up quite early it was definitely worth it. The event was held at the JW Marriott up in Summelrin. The area was gorgeous! We all arrived at the JW Marriott roughly around 6:30am. There were so many sponsors at the event. I think I can speak for us all when I say that Starbucks was our favorite. They were giving away free passion fruit teas! By the time it hit 7:00, hundreds upon hundreds of volunteers and walkers had started to pour in and the event was preparing to kick off. As we waited for the rest of the members to arrive at the event some of us headed down to our designated zone where we were assigned with the two mile mark. Once we were all settled at our zone spot we awaited the walkers to slowly flood the streets. As the walkers passed us we would cheer them on with a “U-R-O-C-K! You Rock! You Rock!”, along with many other cheers. The walkers seemed very energetic and happy with the event. As we kept cheering them on we were greeted with countless compliments for our support. Aside from the cheering and support we were giving towards the walkers and survivors, There was definitely a warm feeling inside with the realization that these survivors, supporters, and maybe even some who is currently diagnosed have so much faith and energy to help rid of this horrible disease. It was a real eye opener for me and I feel that this was a truly touching and inspiring event to be a part of. As the walk had come to a close, we had all walked back to the JW Marriott parking lot where we waited for the closing of the event. As the participants slowly left we had started to help the American Cancer Society Advisors by working on breaking down the lot. We had gone and collected all the chairs and tables as we stacked them on a cart. The most tedious work had to be the loading of all the left over water cases. As we finished loading the water, we all thought we were done. Sadly, we were wrong. The water that we had loaded we later had to unload at the warehouse storage for their next event. Although it was long hard work at the end it paid off. The advisors of the American Cancer Society was kind enough to treating us with pizza for lunch after we were done. We relaxed in their conference room as we ate and talked. At the end even with all the hard work that we had done, it was truly an amazing and fun experience. I will definitely attend this event and urge anyone who can go to attend!