Good afternoon, friends.
In all sincerity, I want to thank all of you for your efforts in raising awareness and funds for the Cancer Resource Center of the Desert over the the last several months. We are humbled by your consideration of CRCD as worthy of the hard work that you put into making our event a success.
Some of you are there for the cancer patients that were not with us this year, others for those that are still with us, and still others participate for those that will join the ranks of cancer survivors in the coming years. For whomever your reason is for being there, we sincerely thank you.
This year there were 219 survivors that registered prior to and at the event. WOW! Thank you to the Survivor committee, Maria, Joanne, Jessie, and Reyna who worked so hard to accommodate each and every one. Also thank you to all who donated gifts to the survivors. Once again, there were enough gifts for each survivor that attended! Thank you Team Hope for making your campsite available for the Survivor pics. It is a highlight for so many of our Survivors and for us. Thanks also to Joselito who volunteers his time and talent to take their pictures.
The Luminarias are one of the most challenging aspects of the Campout. Well over 1,500 candles were lit on the track again this year. And, again, Reyna and her crew did an outstanding job of making it happen. We are deeply indebted to Reyna and her team for all of the work involved in making that happen. Of course, thank you to Sylvia for taking charge of the names, making the labels, and preparing the list for the ceremony itself. Thank you also to Sylvia, Darrel, and Ceci for reading the names for us and to the Ooh La La dancers for the beautiful dancing that made the ceremony so beautiful. The video of Adrian and Rosa was produced by Luis who did a great job of capturing their stories.
Nancy and her crew did a great job at entertainment and again, working as a team, they made the event fun...Oh Nancy!
Thank you to the Estrada and Valencia family for the delicious food and drink and for taking care of feeding our Survivors and their guests.
I also want to acknowledge the registration team who worked hard all night in making sure that everyone had a wristband who entered and taking care of the entertainers coming through the gate. Thank you Richard for participating with us again this year at registration.
I could write a book, as you can see. Each and every one of you are awesome and we are most grateful. When asked for help, you stepped up to the plate. I think that the most impressive aspect of this event, is the way that we work together as a team. The cooperation that occurs with such a diverse group of people is phenomenal and rare. I believe that it works because we never lose sight of why we are there.
Finally, thanks to Ruby for coordinating the entire event and keeping us organized. My deepest respect and admiration to you.
While there is still money coming in, at this point we have raised $60,000!!! Congratulations to you all for that!
Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all. We are deeply indebted and hopeful that you will consider CRCD as worthy of your efforts again next year. Hope to see you then.
Diana Peacher, CEO, Patient Navigator
Cancer Resource Center of the Desert