Mary Beth Dever laughs just reasonable about how much dancing she’ll be doing at this year’s Valentine’s Day dancing party -- or not. The intention is she’ll be there demanding to exhort a difference, hoping any moves she and her mate John transform will serve propel researchers that much closer to a marinate for childhood cancer. Dever knows what it’s peer when that word -- cancer -- unexpectedly slips off the lips and into your world. Her son Sean was 11 years antique when doctors told them he had osteosarcoma, a toxic bone cancer that mainly develops during adolescence.
Dever wouldn’t disposition that on her worst enemy, not to make known a child. "Children are our hope, our future," said Dever. "And you friendship them so much." Love.
It’s why the Marietta span will be at Saturday’s CURE Childhood Cancer Valentine dinner/dance. It’s their point of saying gratitude you to those who danced before them and made it practicable for other parents of children with cancer to like the fruits of their labor, perhaps, in another 20 years. "Sean has benefited from the years of fund-raising," she said.
"That’s why he is able to haunt today." Now in its 21st year, the annual Valentine’s dinner/dance started the motion a lot of advantageous things do. A rank of friends adage a necessary and wanted to help.
Mary Fellers, promenade chairwoman, said they were all members of the Snellville Chapter (Theta Sigma) of Beta Sigma Phi, an ecumenic appointment organization, who went about doing negligible fund-raisers and activities match arts and crafts for children in cancer wards. Then one of their daughters was diagnosed with leukemia and, well, that made cancer personal. It was 1988 and as Valentine’s Day approached, the friends evident to legion a dance. A few dozen race showed up that tenebrosity and donated about $500 to CURE Childhood Cancer, a townswoman nonprofit dedicated to conquering puberty cancer through research, cultivation and support.
"It just mushroomed after that," Fellers said. For the defunct 10 years, they have been packing the Gwinnett Place Marriott to the tune in of nearly 400 populace and raising parsimonious to $50,000 a year. Fellers is fretful the bring may dream of another fall in donations this year because of the conservatism but she said in all, they’ve raised more than $1 million. "It’s a labor of be crazy for us to put this phobia on because most of the and shin-plasters goes toward research," said Fellers.
Less than 2 percent of federal funding for cancer examination is directed toward adolescence cancers, said Kristin Connor, directorship head of CURE. The unwind goes toward matured cancer research. And yet each year in this country, Connor said 12,500 children -- 360 in Georgia -- are diagnosed with cancer, the unsurpassed cause of liquidation by illness in children. Mary Beth Dever wants to kind stable other children get the same break for a preserve as Sean. On Oct. 3, 2007, the light of day before Sean’s upright was amputated, the Devers were at the University of Florida Medical Center having dinner.
This adjust tomorrow Sean will be cancer free, John Dever declared that daytime as the dynasty hoisted their glasses into the air. Today, Sean is 13 and is doing well. So there you have it. Mary Beth Dever is more than a mini grateful, but she won’t be through dancing until every lady gets a correct for cancer. CHARITY DANCE 6 p.m. Saturday Gwinnett Place Marriott, 1775 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth.
Tickets: $85 per mortal Information: CURE Childhood Cancer, 770-986-0035; Kristin@curechildhoodcancer.org To suggest a story, record Real Living, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6455 Best Friend Road, Norcross, Ga. 30071; e-mail gstaples@ajc.com; or collect 770-263-3621.
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