Photo courtesy of American Cancer Society
Where's the Chair Wednesday
The American Cancer Society's Junior Executive Board is holding Where's The Chair Wednesdays as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness.
The American Cancer Society’s Junior Executive Board will be holding a Where’s the Chair Wednesdays awareness campaign in October. The event invites participants to search for a giant pink chair around Birmingham in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
During the challenge, participants can listen to Birmingham Mountain Radio (107.3) for clues of the pink chair’s whereabouts from 7-9 a.m. Using the clues, they will have to locate and post a picture following American Cancer Society Birmingham with #WheresTheChairWednesdays on Instagram. The first person to complete these tasks is the challenge winner. The locations will hold breast cancer awareness information, along with important facts and screening guidelines.
The JEB’s mission is to support the ACS in bringing awareness to all types of cancer through volunteering and fundraising. The Where’s the Chair Wednesdays awareness campaign is just one of their events created to aid the ACS in bringing awareness and care to Birmingham.
The JEB includes U.S. 280-area residents Amanda Ford and JEB Sponsorship Chair Andrew Cain.
After having both parents battle cancer, Ford has worked with the American Cancer Society for the past 10 years to help others in the same situation. Ford balances her work with ACS while working at Robert Half as a staffing manager.
In joining the Junior Executive Board, Ford wishes to help younger professionals to be active in helping the fight against cancer, especially early detection and ways to help others.
“It is so important to support the American Cancer Society through volunteering and donating because that helps us get one step closer to a cure,” said Ford.
Her father is a survivor of throat cancer and her mother recently died due to brain cancer after a three-year fight, so Ford has experienced first hand the toll the battle takes on an entire family. The volunteer work and donations that ACS does not only helps with finding a cure, but also treatment and care for the patients.
“My parents were incredible fighters during their battle, and I want to be able to support other young adults whose parents are going through their cancer journey,” Ford said.
Cain's work with the ACS is spurred partly by his career as director of operations at St. Vincent’s Birmingham, as well as cancer in his own family.
His mother having battled cancer three times, Cain has had a front row seat to the impact that cancer can bring emotionally. Cain works with the ACS to share knowledge of his own experience, help people connect and build a community that patients and supporters alike can look to.
“ACS gives me this opportunity outside the walls of my job and hopefully show others that there are many others out there that have walked in their shoes, and they aren’t alone in their journey,” Cain said.