Penny Garland, a Shasta County employee, just passed her five-year post-cancer milestone.
She’s already a Relay for Life member on the Beetle Walkers team. But she wanted to do something personal to help raise money for Relay for Life. Penny’s the first to admit she’s never been very good about asking friends and co-workers for money, especially for something as serious as a for a cancer fund-raiser.
Another collegue told Penny about these little mail-order rubber ducks that come in just about limitless outfits and themes. Here’s how Penny described her duck success story:
“So my first order went in and now over 800 ducks later people still want more ducks,” she said. “One lady wants a set of four biker ducks, another one wants a set of the five different Halloween ducks. A lady across the hall wants more cat ducks. There is almost a duck for every occasion. The most popular I have found are the Halloween ducks, pirates, cats, devils, bikers and rockers.
Why do people buy ducks? I’ve noticed that most people buy a duck that represents something. I have an Air Force duck because my oldest son served in that branch. The sailor duck represents my dad. I have a horse duck, bunny duck and a cat duck which represents some of the animals I have had, and of course the pink ribbon duck. Others have their dog ducks and soccer ducks for things in their lives. Some people are just crazy about ducks and want them all. The little ducks just make you smile when you look at them. At a spaghetti fundraiser my team hosted last Saturday, one lady who is a volunteer at Mercy bought 60 ducks. She wants to pass them out to the patients in the hospital. I sell them for “a buck a duck”. They cost me about 60 cents each.
Although I haven’t sold them all, I am hoping I can come close to doing this and earn about $300 for Relay for Life and help find a cure for cancer. It’s not a lot of money but it has been one of the most fun things I have done and hopefully that little bit can help.”
Relay for Life is such an incredible, uplifting event.
My family and I attended the 2006 American Cancer Society Relay for Life. We remembered those in our family who’d not survived cancer: My father, Don Chamberlain, and Aunt Rita, and Bruce’s mother, Beverly Greenberg, and Bruce’s sister, Mindy Greenberg.
But the most joyful reason we attended was to cheer on my nephew, Matt Shively. If you were there in 2006, maybe you remember the handsome, bald young man who helped hold the huge banner that led the survivor’s lap. Matt joked that he felt so good he could have run that lap. But he wanted to show respect for the cancer survivors who weren’t feeling as energetic.
Matt was 20 when he died of cancer the following March. He’s been gone 14 months now.
Cancer is a horrible disease. Many people don’t survive it. But many do.
And that’s what Relay for Life is all about. It remembers and honors those who didn’t make it. It celebrates and lets us rejoice with the ones who do.
The money raised goes to cancer education, patient services and cancer research.
Relay for Life’s slogan says it all: Celebrate. Remember. Fight back. Be part of the cure.
Beginning today at 9 a.m. , Relay for Life will last for 24 hours at Shasta College on Old Oregon Trail in Redding.
And keep an eye out for Penny with her Beetle Walkers. She just might have some leftover ducks to sell.
