Monday, Nov 4 2002
October – The Month of Awareness
- Zahra Jamshed Zahra Jamshed is a project manager with a consulting firm in NY City. During her extensive travel assignments, she has made good friends from different parts of the world and likes to socialize with quality people. She is an avid reader of inspirational writings and finds books to be a great sense of relief in the hustle bustle of life.
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October is a month full of life and activity for nature as well as earthlings. On the East Coast, the fall-foliage is still in its infancy and will start aging around the end of the month. The color transformation of leaves and the winter welcoming chill in the evening reminds one of God’s grandeur. I am having a writer's block to express the beauty of changing colors therefore have to rely on the following verse by one of my favorite poets, Late Hafeez Jalandhri:
~Khae'nchna Tas'veer Kaa Lanaa Hae Jooae' Sheer Kaa'
Rung Bhur Dae Aae' Qalam Alfaaz Main Tasee'r Kaa'
October has been formally announced as the “breast cancer awareness” month. Many non-profit groups organized events and walks to create awareness on this issue. Only a civilized nation will dedicate its resources to create awareness amongst its women-folk. My belief! These walks serve various purposes for the organizers. They raise funds for research and management aside from creating awareness amongst the masses.
Having participated in various 5k, 10k and 12k walks to support the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Englewood Hospital in NJ in their noble cause, I am always deeply touched by the turn out. Words cannot fare well as one has to be there to feel the mood in the air. The most appreciable part is that women are the drivers of an initiative that significantly impacts their lives. Who else would think of the issues impacting women if they don’t take think about those?
I cannot resist quoting the following that I read somewhere recently:
“If you haven't the strength to impose your own terms upon life, then you must accept the terms it offers you- T.S.Eliot.”
Walk 1 (Walk for Awareness)
Venue: Mackay Park, Englewood, New Jersey
October 06, 2002
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This annual walk, commonly known as, “Walk for Awareness” was sponsored by the Englewood Hospital. On a beautiful sunny day in the Garden State (New Jersey) over a few hundred walkers got together at Mackay Park. The park hosted different vendors and Englewood Hospital’s staff, who educated the walkers on various health-care services offered by the hospital on monthly breast exam, cancer diagnosis and treatment. Several brochures, calendars, and bathroom hangers stating how to conduct self-examination and different reminders - for mammogram - in form of pencils and nail files with the hospital’s contact information, were nicely laid out at the entrance tables. Mothers had brought in their young daughters to participate in the event on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon.
The logistics of the walk were real simple. Many volunteered at the registration desk to assist the first time walkers and the regular participants in signing up, collecting contributions and answering questions and concerns. In most of these events, the first timers are advised to register. By registering, the walker’s information is added to a database and they are contacted via email or regular mail on the upcoming events. The walker does not have to contribute any donation; they can also just participate in the walk to support the cause. As an incentive, upon reaching a certain contribution limit, the walker receives a t-shirt or a sweatshirt, with the logo of the non-profit and the sponsors’ names. Many walkers feel passionate about these “awareness initiatives,” as they were the survivors or had relatives with breast cancer. Some had lost their near and dear ones in the battle against cancer; and some were just passionate about the cause. I was amongst those who felt passionate about the concept of “awareness.”
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Englewood is a beautiful town with amazing trees and corners. Little cafes and specialty stores are right and left as you pass by the downtown area. After registration, a group of over a hundred or so walkers in their black t-shirts and water bottles headed for the pink-ribbon marked route. Most of the times, the organizers provide the walkers with maps of the designated route, but this time pink ribbons were put all along the route. It was a scenic route with beautiful trees, bushes, cafes, and nice stores on both sides of the street. A number of times, as I came across a tree with changing colors or a bush with sookhae’ patae’ (dry leaves), I stopped for a few minutes to appreciate the transformation of leaves. But not once did the thought, behind the reason for walking, escape my mind. It was like a mission.
The paramedics cycled along to insure our safety. Special cops were found on many major intersections, monitoring the traffic and giving the walkers the right of way. As the group covered 2/3rd of the pink-ribbon marked route, we were cheered by another group of volunteers, young and old, who were found on both sides of the road, with some candies and water to energize the slightly dehydrated ones. After covering the 5k, the group returned to the park and was entertained with live music, nicely brewed coffee and light snacks. Thanks to the local Star Bucks that provided complimentary beverages and coffee. Aquafino was in high demand and was generously distributed amongst the slightly tired ones. Now, this was not it. The nicest part was yet to come. The local Swedish Massage Institute offered 10-minute free massage to all the walkers who wanted to de-stress. Many tired walkers stood in line for their turn. After this service was over, it was time to head home. As I approached my car, there was a deep sense of relief on supporting a cause close to my heart for various reasons.
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Walk 2: American Cancer Society – Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
Venue: Giralda Farms, Madison, New Jersey
October 20, 2002
American Cancer Society (ACS) had at least 10 fundraising events/walks organized all over NY and NJ on October 20th 2002. There were several locations in NJ holding the event, but I opted for Madison as I used to reside in the neighboring town, Morristown – famous for the green, nice little restaurants, downtown, and beautiful neighborhood. This event had a great turn out - over 3000 participants and 100s of volunteers.
ACS is a very active and organized team of dedicated people with offices all over the world. For this event, the use of fast, secure and efficient technology made the process of fundraising fun and easy. Each walker/team had their own ACS sponsored website on which their sponsors could sponsor them via online donations. Those who were not comfortable making online transactions had the option to mail-in their pledges.
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This year I was a little dheela “lazy” and did not approach my family and friends till the last minute for the desired sponsorship. My initial fund-raising target was $50.00. After I started punching in the number of email addresses of friends, acquaintances and colleagues on my ACS provided web page, I realized that I could do much better than that, so I doubled the amount. Seeing the contributions pouring in by my kind and generous friends, I went ahead and took another leap – tripled the target amount. After a week, I kept up with my exuberant and hopeful spirit and quadrupled my end goal. By the Grace of God, on the day of making strides against breast cancer, I not only exceeded my goal but also went over the quadrupled amount. The sweetest part of this initiative was a generous contribution I received from a generous person at the last minute. Despite his hectic work schedule, the said gentleman sent me his contribution via overnight delivery while he was on the road. This sweet gesture added a lot to my own spirits on the day of the walk.
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In the end, isn’t life all about nice, kind, sweet, considerate and caring gestures?
Hasn’t ACS been religiously promoting this spirit?
I have had first hand experience with ACS when I requested latest literature and information on cancer in women. I was off to home (Lahore, Pakistan) during my winter holidays and wanted to disseminate the info amongst some hospitals, family and friends. To my surprise, in just a few days, I received a package with all the pertinent information. This is what I love about the support system and structure amongst some of the non-profit groups in the US. Personally, I have always found ACS extremely helpful in assisting people in the network as well as out-of-network. On my end, the aforementioned is the most important factor to support a social welfare institute as their actions speak louder than their words.
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