UM Panhellenic Community CARE Walk is Aug. 26

This annual walk is an important piece in supporting the cancer center’s mission to promote awareness, research and ultimately eradication of this disease. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Communications

Members of the Greek community at the University of Mississippi are again taking to the streets Aug. 26 to raise funds in the fight against cancer.

The 12th annual UM Panhellenic Council Cancer Awareness Research and Eradication, or CARE, Walk will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Grove. Registration, which includes a T-shirt, is $15. All funds go to the Baptist Cancer Center-North Mississippi in Oxford.

“Campus and community members come together to enjoy a walk around the beautiful University of Mississippi campus as they raise funds for the Baptist Cancer Center-North Mississippi,” said Jenell Bukky Lanski, UM coordinator of Greek affairs. “In 2014, with the help of the campus and local community, the Panhellenic community donated over $40,000 to the Baptist Cancer Center for breast cancer research, free mammograms and programs.”

Hospital officials said they are grateful for the Greeks’ generosity.

“With the money donated from the CARE Walk last year, in the past 12 months the donation has funded over 100 free mammograms and almost 50 free diagnostic mammograms and/or breast ultrasounds,” said Jennifer Eastland, coordinator for marketing at BMH-NM. “It is really amazing the difference our Ole Miss students are making in the lives of our Baptist-North Mississippi Cancer Center patients right here in our community.”

Pamela Gordon, a UM staff member in the School of Law, helped an international student who needed a mammogram make contact with the cancer navigator at the Cancer Center. After it was determined that she would need an ultrasound instead, arrangements were made for the student to have the procedure using CARE Walk funds.

“Without the financial assistance afforded by the generosity of the Panhellenic Council, this particular student might never have received the help that she needed,” Gordon said. “It was very fulfilling for me to have played even a small role in helping her make that vital connection.”

This annual walk is an important piece in supporting the cancer center’s mission to promote awareness, research and ultimately eradication of this disease.

CARE Walk flyer 2015

“We all know someone who has been affected by cancer, and this is a great way to support them,” said Peter Dilatush, director of oncology at BMH-NM. “Participants have the ability to walk in honor of someone dear to them and we also have cancer survivors that walk as well. It’s a great community event that would not be possible without the vision and support of the Ole Miss Panhellenic Council. These funds will go so far in fighting against breast cancer here in Oxford and the surrounding communities and we are honored to be associated with such a great cause.”

To register for CARE Walk, visit http://www.memberplanet.com/s/olemiss/carewalkregistration2015.

For more about fraternity and sorority life at the UM, call the Office of the Dean of Students at 662-915-7248 or visit http://www.olemiss.edu/greeks.

Courtesy of Edwin Smith and the Ole Miss News Desk