Paint Poplarville Pink walk draws crowd by BUTCH WEIR Editor, The Poplarville Democrat The threat of a hurricane did not deter a determined group of cancer supporters Saturday as the third annual Paint Poplarville Pink Walk went off without a hitch. Sabrina Brown who started the walk three years ago during her own battle with cancer, said this year the funds raised will be donated to the Pink Ribbon Fund in Hattiesburg “because they helped me when I was battling cancer.” The Pink Ribbon Fund, which covers 17 counties including Pearl River, assists people struggling with the myriad of problems which come from dealing with cancer. “I can promise you that they … help local people,” said Sabrina’s husband Michael Brown. Brown said there are many individuals and businesses that supported this year’s walk, either with funds or goods for staging the event, along with numerous volunteers. A local restaurant donated 10 percent of Saturday’s receipts to the Pink Ribbon Fund, she said. Donations from the sale of T-shirts through the three years of the walk have raised approximately $8,000, all of which has gone to either a particular support group, such as the American Cancer Society or the Pink Ribbon Fund, or to local people dealing with cancer, she said. Michelle Garner with the Pick Ribbon Fund said because everything given to that fund is donated, 100 percent of those funds go back to help people in the communities served by the fund. “Everything goes back to those who need it.” Brown said they helped her twice with funding in her own battle with cancer. “I want to give back a little bit of that because they helped me.” A notable visitor to the event was Debra Bryant, wife of Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, who said she and the governor have been active In raising breast cancer awareness. She has been an honorary chair of the Susan G. Coleman Foundation and had only recently participated in a recent Pink Tie Gala. Bryant is familiar with the difficulties cancer can bring into people lives and said her own mother was a cancer survivor. “We really push for early detection because it makes all of the difference. It’s very, very important to get early detection,” noting that in the United States more than 300,000 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Approximately 40,000 of those will not survive, she said. “It’s something that we really need to keep our eye on; really search and try to get a quick cure.” Brown said, “Mrs. Bryant went out of her way to be here,” and that the governor would have come but had a prior commitment. “Maybe next year we can have him here, too.” She said she wants to work to get the Pink Ribbon fund adopted as a city-wide program because there have been offers of donations from several organizations here. “That’s my goal, is to try to give back to people that helped me, and to raise awareness because early detection saves lives.” State Senator Tony Smith, who took part in the walk, said his family knew the pain that comes when a family member is lost to cancer because a brother-in-law succumbed to the disease. “Our prayer is that we actually find a cure to get this thing eradicated where people can live and be healthy, he said.” Poplarville Mayor Brad Necaise, Alderwoman Maggie Smith and Alderman Randy Brown also participated in the walk. Necaise said he lost a 35-year-old cousin to cancer. “I applaud all of us as a community for coming out and fighting this fight together,” he told the group before starting the walk.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Oct 2013 20:23:21 +0000
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