...educating our community about cancer research.
2005 Charity Selection
On January 27, 2005, YTAC conducted its third annual donation ceremony at the Sam Houston Hotel. The ceremony was designed to "unveil" the year's charitable organization recipients. This event is also a way for YTAC to show our appreciation to all of our annual, lifetime and founding members, and to thank them for their participation and generosity.
This year, three charitable organizations were chosen by members of the Charity Selection Committee. The Charity Selection Committee members decided upon charities they wanted to research, they made contacts at the various organizations and collected information about the organizations. Once the data had been collected, the committee was presented the information about the respective charities and asked to vote on the recipient of this year's donation. From that vote came our winners. This year's recipients of the YTAC 2004 donations are: The Rose ($4000), Planet Cancer ($4000) and the Texas Children's Emergency Fund ($5000).
- The Rose - Founded in 1986, The Rose is a Houston breast health care center providing cancer screening, diagnosis and support to all women regardless of their ability to pay. This year, more than 32,000 women will receive services at The Rose. Of this number, 5,300 will receive needed services at no charge through The Rose Empower Her Sponsorship Program. This program provides breast cancer detection services to those who cannot afford the costs of these potentially life saving procedures. The Rose works to eliminate the senseless tragedy of a woman losing her life to breast cancer because her financial limitations kept her from accessing early detection and treatment.
- Planet Cancer - Planet Cancer was founded in 1995 by three young adults who were diagnosed with cancer and felt like there were not a lot of resources and information for young adults with cancer. Since its founding, two of the founders have passed away from the disease. Planet Cancer's website provides resources, message boards, etc. for young adults with cancer. The organization also sponsor retreats for young adults fighting cancer.
- Texas Children's Emergency Fund - This donation does not go to the generic Texas Children's fund, rather YTAC funds will target a family or families with specific needs. The fund helps to pay parking expenses at the medical center, electrical bills during the summer, shelter, food, babysitters, etc. This is a very specific and direct fund aimed at helping people with specific issues they are having while their children are undergoing treatment.
In addition, YTAC sponsored two campers to attend Camp Periwinkle (a one-week camp for patients and their siblings from the Texas Children's Cancer Center) and adopted a family for the holiday's whose 8-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with lymphoma.
Lastly, YTAC (and I) would like to recognize all the members of the Charity Selection Committee. It is because of you that YTAC's dreams and goal are becoming a reality and I look forward to working with you all in the future.
Ashley Morgan
Charity Selection Chair