Friends, family and community members alike participated in the eighth annual “Walk to Fight Cancer” produced by Keeping You, Me and Memories Alive, Incorporated on September 29.
Along the path that circled Arold Field were numerous paper bags, scribbled with messages to lost loved ones or friends. Inside the bags were pebbles to keep the bags from blowing away, but in reality, those bags were filled with hope, love and memories for those who were lost.
Community members, students, athletic clubs and trainers, faculty and staff members, sororities, fraternities and many others participated on Saturday morning and evening in support of fighting cancer.
According to MemoriesAlive.org, Keeping You, Memories Alive, Inc., is a Plymouth based non-profit organization. Melissa Merrill, a Plymouth State University student who lost her mother to cancer, started “Walk to Fight Cancer.” For the past seven years, volunteers have gathered on the PSU campus to participate in a 12-hour walk to raise funds to fight cancer and help those who are living with cancer and their families.
According to Cancer.org, the National Cancer Institute estimates that 1,444,920 people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in 2007. This year, 559,650 are expected to pass away from cancer equaling more than 1,500 deaths a day. Cancer is the second most cause of death in the U.S. behind heart disease. In the U.S., cancer accounts for every 1 of 4 deaths.
In New Hampshire, 7,140 new cancer cases are expected to be discovered this year while 2,630 are expected to pass away as a result of cancer in New Hampshire.
“We’re all here because we all have lost someone from cancer,” said Kathryn Melanson, President of the organization, “We are here for different reasons, but we’re here for the common good.”
The “Walk to Fight Cancer” event was filled with activities, raffles, music and a barbeque for participants or those looking to help the cause.
The event have raised nearly $97,000 to date to benefit individuals and families in the greater Plymouth area whose lives have been affected by cancer. Funds raised also support textbook awards for PSU students who are affected by cancer.