Raising breast cancer awareness and the number of mammograms we can provide
Wendy Blocker’s a go-to person here at TFC. She’s good at hand-holding and team building through some pretty tough situations. It’s no surprise that she was recognized, along with her mom, by Susan G. Komen Austin for her ongoing efforts on the Race for the Cure Teams committee. She was awarded Volunteer of the Month for August 2016 for raising awareness for breast cancer.
Our Physician-Patient Liaison started volunteering for Komen Austin through her position at TFC. She was so moved by the cause and what this small-but-mighty non-profit can accomplish for women that she took on a much larger role. As a Teams committee member and a Komen Austin Ambassador, Wendy devotes many hours to making the Race for the Cure a success and raising breast cancer awareness at events all year long.
Join Team TFC to raise funds and breast cancer awareness
For the 7th year, TFC will sponsor Race for the Cure on Sept. 25. This year, we invite our current and former fertility patients and their friends and families to join our race team!
Join Team TFC before Sept. 1 and get a t-shirt that was designed just for us.
In her volunteer role offering Komen Koaching to team captains, Wendy always emphasizes that funds generated by entry fees cover race-day expenses such as permits and public safety needs.
“Our goal is to inform the teams that we want them to have a good time (and have a great shirt!) but also to educate them about the importance of fundraising. I help them brainstorm ideas like bake sales, car washes and lemonade stands.”
Of the total raised by Race for the Cure, 85% is generated by the race teams, she says, not by single benefactors “writing really big checks.” Of that total, Komen Austin dedicates 75% to help women here in Travis and Bastrop counties with needs like these:
- A mammogram for a woman who can’t afford one.
- Childcare for a single mom who is undergoing chemotherapy.
- Gas money or car rides for a woman who would otherwise have no way to get to appointments.
A pledge to make a difference
Unlike most breast cancer volunteers, Wendy does not have a personal connection to the disease, and that is unheard of, she says. One in eight women will have a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetimes.
“Every meeting that I attend, there is someone there with a story,” says Wendy. “A family member or friend with breast cancer. I have seen the devastation of a breast cancer diagnosis through the women who come to TFC for fertility preservation. They become like family to me.”
A New Year’s resolution five years ago to give back led to a pledge. “My efforts to raise breast cancer awareness were part of my job description here at TFC. But I wanted to do more.”
On behalf of our mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmas and friends who have battled this disease, thank you, Wendy, for going above and beyond.
Contact us at TFC to help raise breast cancer awareness or to join Team TFC.
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