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| News From The Women's Cancer Resource Center August 2010 |
Greetings!
 Several Sundays ago, I had the extraordinary honor of participating in the closing ceremonies for the Avon Walk against Breast Cancer and receiving a $125,000 award to support WCRC's outreach, emotional support and navigation programs for Latinas and African American women.
My thanks to the 2,500 walkers who raised over $5.5 million to support people with breast cancer in Northern California.
As I stood on the stage and witnessed the tired but jubilant crowd walk the final steps of their two-day journey, I realized again the transformative power of community.
A week or so later, I joined the organizers of the Second Annual Tilden Community Golf Tournament to celebrate their success in raising $7,400 dollars to benefit WCRC. Standing with Heidi Mayer, the driving force behind the tournament, I again felt the enormous power of community.
The following weekend, we held a volunteer training at the center, launching 13 new volunteers into service with WCRC. Their excitement and commitment vibrated throughout the day, inspiring the staff and each other.
Sure, money is tight these days. But maybe we will all emerge with a new definition of wealth.
With gratitude,
Peggy
Peggy McGuire
Executive Director
Women's Cancer Resource Center |
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Support a WCRC Swimmer
 Margo Rivera-Weiss celebrates 18 years of working at Women's Cancer Resource Center. Margo first came to WCRC as a library volunteer and later joined the staff as Librarian in 1992. Margo's current job is Community Outreach Manager. She coordinates WCRC's wellness workshops, art gallery, eBulletin, website and other projects. Margo swims in memory of her mother Elsie Zahler Rivera, who died just months after being diagnosed with cancer. Margo also remembers her padrino Eliseo Rivera, artist friend Rae Louise Hayward and numerous former clients as she trains for the 2010 swim. To support Margo's, swim click HERE. |
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New Support Groups
 A support group for Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer women with cancer begins August 3rd, 2010. Please call Cheryl Jones at 510-653-7374 for details. Cheryl Jones, MFT, has worked with individuals and families facing cancer for over 20 years in her private practice. Her first wife lived with cancer for eight years after diagnosis, deepening Cheryl's understanding of the challenges facing LGBT people with cancer and their loved ones. A self-care group for caregivers begins Monday, August 9 from 6:30 to 8 pm at WCRC. The group facilitator is Connie Holmes, who also facilitates WCRC's weekly support group for women with metastatic cancer, and serves as clinical manager of programs. Connie has been working with people with cancer since 1987, and lost her husband to cancer in 1999. If you are interested in participating, please contact Connie at holmestead01@comcast.net. |
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WCRC Events
We offer a wide variety of events to offer you comfort, community and information. Join us for creativity, feeling good in your body and so much more. For the full description of classes and presenters, please visit WCRC's website. You can see all the events currently scheduled for 2010. All classes and workshops are free of charge and you must register to attend.
Please join us for these important events:
AUGUST
Art Therapy Workshop - 8/12, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
 Please join us as we use the creative process to explore the emotional, physical, and spiritual experiences of a cancer diagnosis. No art experience is necessary. Art therapy is offered twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays. Please contact Shannon at 917-331-0566 if you are interested in participating.
 Cooking Club - Summer Stone Fruit
Peaches and nectarines and plums and apricots and pluots - oh my!
8/18 - (Wed) 6 - 8 pm :: Sandy Der
Art Therapy Workshop - 8/26, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Please see 8/12 for more information
Nutritional Approches to Inflammation
8/26 (Th) 6:30 - 8:00 pm :: Sandy Der
SEPTEMBER
Cooking Club Bonus - Fermentation - back by popular demand!
9/1, 6 - 8 pm Join Sandy Der for an evening of delicious homemade fermented kombucha teas, sauerkraut, kim chee and much more. Please bring a clean jar with a lid if you'd like to bring home a kombucha starter. REGISTRATION REQUIRED :: please contact margo@wcrc.org.
Inflammation: the Silent Storm in Chronic Disease  Tuesday, 9/2, 6:30 - 8:00 pm - Debra Sue Kelvin, L.Ac.
We will discuss dietary concerns including blood sugar regulation, botanical support and stress reduction to decrease inflammation.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED :: please contact margo@wcrc.org. Art Therapy Workshop 9/9, 5:30 - 7:30 pm Please see 8/12 for more information Opening the Heart - Meditation Series - Sarah Puyans Four Saturdays - Sept. 11 - Oct. 2 10:30 am - 12 noon Using mindfulness practices, meditation, reflective readings and some movement to experience opening the heart/mind. All levels of meditation experience and different traditions welcome. Sarah Puyans has many years of meditation experience in various traditions, She is a Charlotte Maxwell volunteer and Rosen Method bodyworker. REGISTRATION REQUIRED :: please contact margo@wcrc.org. Cooking Club - Fish
9/18 - (Wed) 6 - 8 pm :: Sandy Der REGISTRATION REQUIRED :: please contact margo@wcrc.org. Mask Making  9/19 (Sun) 10 am - 5 pm with Arlene Schmaeff In this workshop we will make masks from a plaster casting of our own face and then using a wide variety of materials to decorate the masks.
Art Therapy Workshop 9/23, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Please see 8/12 for more information.
Cancer Care Roadmaps: How to Balance Care, Coping & Clinical Trials
9/28, 6:30 - 8 pm
Address the challenges and puzzles of cancer diagnosis and treatment; learn about the world of clinical research trials. Join a long-time UCSF cancer nurse, Deborah Hamolsky RN, MS, AOCNS and the manager of Breast CancerTrials.org, Elly Cohen, PhD, in conversation about how to navigate and cope with the world of cancer medicine. Breast cancer stories are often examples, yet the talk is designed for people with all types of cancer. REGISTRATION REQUIRED :: please contact margo@wcrc.org. Coming Attractions:
Cam Lecture Series: Best of Both Worlds: Integrating Complementary and Conventional Medicine Co-sponsored by Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic and the Women's Cancer Resource Center Guided Imagery, Gabriella Heinsheimer, MD, Saturday, October 9th, 10am-Noon The Brain as Center of Healing, Jane Grady Saturday, October 16th, 10am-Noon
Bodywork and Massage, Betty Segal Saturday, October 30, 10am-Noon How Can Acupuncture Help? Kendra Stone Saturday, November 6, 10am-Noon Location: Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, 610-16th Street, Suite 426, Oakland, CA 94612 RSVP: Connie Holmes, 510.898.0548 or holmestead01@comcast.net. For events beyond September, please visit WCRC's website. |
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Exciting Benefits for WCRC
You Can Make a Difference by Swimming a Mile for Women With CancerJoin an estimated 600 men, women and children who will swim at the WCRC's Swim A Mile for Women with Cancer on October 2nd & 3rd, 2010, at Mills College. Register to swim!
Anybody can swim or water walk. We'll be cheering for you whether you go one lap or one mile (36 laps).
All swimmers are asked to raise $350 in donations. Families are asked to raise $600 per family in donations. Any shortfall of the $350 per swimmer (or $600 per family) fundraising requirement will be auto-debited from the credit card account given at registration on or after the final fundraising deadline of Friday, November 19, 2010.
You can raise donations online (each swimmer will be able to access his or her personalized online donation form that sponsors can donate directly to) or in person, and we will give you the tools and support to reach your fundraising goal!
You bring: paddles, buoys, fins, kickboards, goggles, family, and friends.
We'll bring: cheering toys, food, beverages, great music, swim caps, and raffle prizes and provide an energized, fun, and supportive environment.
GIRLSTOCK!
 Founded in 2002 by San Francisco native Maei Flowers, the Girlstock Art and Music Benefit is a quasi-annual giving back project where she enlists the support of dedicated friends, and kind volunteers, businesses, artists, writers, poets, dancers, djs and musicians to pool their time and collective resources in the name of grassroots philanthropy. A full listing and description of the events can be found at www.girlstock.com.
For more information about this benefit, please contact Maei Flowers at 415/615-2322 or girlstock@gmail.com. Support Strokes
Saturday, September 25, 8:00 am - on California Canoe and Kayak, Oakland, CA If you are a paddler, know a paddler, or want to be a paddler, please join California Canoe and Kayak in benefitting Women's Cancer Resource Center and other great organizations by kayaking in the bay. Novice paddlers are welcome! Gather a group of your friends and have some fun while working to end the breast cancer epidemic! If you can't attend and want to participate, support a paddler by making a donation on their behalf. Click here.
High Tea Fundraiser for Support Group Retreat
 On Saturday, July 31st, the African American Outreach Group hosted a High Tea to raise money for the annual support group retreat. Many members of the support group sold tickets and engaged their family/friends to make a donation to support the event. The hard work of everyone involved made it a success and we raised over $760.00. |
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Support WCRC
Happy Birthday
Do you have a hard time responding to friends who ask "what do you want for your birthday?" We can help with that! Next time your birthday rolls around you can tell your friends and family to make a donation to WCRC (they can send a check or go to our website and make a gift in your honor!). You can also use Facebook. Just list us as your birthday cause and post our weblink on your page to drive new donors to the website using the power of social networking. Find us at www.facebook.com/wcrc.org. Become a monthly donor
Go to www.wcrc.org and hit Make A Donation (on the left side). If you hit the GiveDirect button and use your VISA or Mastercard, there is NO SERVICE CHARGE and 100% of your gift goes directly to support WCRC programs. Write WCRC into your will and leave behind a legacy that will sustain and support our programs. Contact Pat Bregant at 510.601.4040 x105 or pat@wcrc.org if you have questions . . . or ideas! Community Thrift donations designated to WCRC totaled $1000 this past quarter! 20 people brought their unwanted items to 623 Valencia Street in San Francisco between April & June and we just received a check for $980.00. Thanks to everyone who schlepped their old clothes, shoes, books, etc. to the receiving dock on colorful Sycamore Alley. If you have items that you don't want but are still re-sellable, please take them to Community Thrift and tell them to credit WCRC - it's easy and really pays off! Our WishlistDigital 35mm camera - Canon EOS Rebel with telephoto lens Newer laptop with wireless capability 3 new PCs for staff/volunteer use Large size flatbed scanner 11" x 17" size Office space in Richmond Office space in Hayward For other ways to support WCRC please go to: http://www.wcrc.org/donate.htm. |
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Volunteer
Volunteering at WCRC is the perfect way to give back to others, while at the same time providing nourishment for your spirit. Attend the Volunteer Orientation on the first Wednesday of the month and find out about who we are, what volunteers and interns do and some basic information about cancer. The next Comprehensive Volunteer Training will be held on July 17th. We look forward to seeing you!
To sign up for an orientation, e-mail or call Peggy, peggy@wcrc.org, 510/601-4040 x 101. |
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Let's Get Cooking!
Many of us are trying to improve our diets -- yes, we know, more vegetables & fruit, more fiber, eat in season, stay local, etc.
Making positive healthful changes often times means taking control of one's diet. And that means cooking many of your own meals.
Read the entire article. |
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Join Us on Facebook, Twitter, and Change.org!
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Our Mission
To empower women with cancer to be active and informed consumers and survivors; to provide community for women with cancer and their supporters; to educate the general community about cancer; and to be actively involved in the struggle for a life-affirming, cancer-free society.
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