If you’ve been reading this blog, you probably know that my name is Cindy
Murray, and most people know me as the owner and organizer of Crafty Neighbor,
a Texas-based scrap and craft events company. We are best known for our
craft cruises, retreats, scrapbook garage sales, and, of course, our annual
“Think Pink Crop for the Cure.” What most people don’t know about
me is that I am now a 1-year breast cancer survivor, and I would like to share
my story with you.
In 2008, my company hosted our first ever fundraiser crop to help Pam
Wilemon, a local scrapbook instructor who had recently been diagnosed with
breast cancer. Pam had lost her job, had no insurance, and had a lot
of medical bills to pay. So we hosted “Pam’s Pals Crop” to help her
out. The response was tremendous, so we did it again in 2009 while she
was still undergoing treatment. Eventually, Pam got better, so we decided
to focus our giving to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure in which Pam and
several of our Crafty Neighbor instructors and organizers were walking. We
hosted a 3-Day walk team every year, sometimes walking, sometimes volunteering
for the 3-Day Crew, but always involved in some way. We have continued this tradition year after
year because we feel the cause is so very important and our message of hope
needs to be shared with all women.
Then, last year, it happened to me – I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 1 in every 8 women will
develop invasive breast cancer of some type. About 1 in 35 women will die
from it – that's one every 69 seconds.
Friends and family have commented on how ironic it is that I had breast
cancer after I’ve been such a staunch supporter of this cause, but I look at
those statistics and I know that it was bound to happen to me or to someone I
love. This disease is pervasive, and it’s not going to go away until we
MAKE it go away. We must fund the research to find better treatment that
doesn’t involve disfiguring our bodies, and hopefully some day we will be able
to prevent it entirely. We must continue to encourage women to get annual
mammograms, and we must insist that insurance companies pay for screening.
This is where you come in. I can’t do this alone.
On August 19, 2017, Crafty Neighbor will be hosting
our annual Think Pink Crop for the Cure at the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas
Council, JoAnn Fogg Service Center, at 6001 Summerside Drive, Dallas, Texas
75252. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day
for the Cure, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.
We would love to have you join us! Registration will remain open through Monday,
August 14. You can sign up online at
CraftyNeighbor.com. The event costs $50,
but includes lunch, dinner, and lots of prizes and surprises throughout the
day.
If you’d like more information about the 3-Day or
simply want to make a cash donation, please visit our team page at: http://www.the3day.org/goto/walkerstexasrangers
