On September 25th, 2010 we held our first annual Swing for Joy—A Survivorship Celebration at the Hard Rock Hotel. It was a HUGE success! The room was beautiful, the entertainment was fun and inspiring. I would love to THANK all who attended the Gala or participated in our golf tournament. GCAP sends special thanks to the family of Margaret Eustace for the success of the golf tournament. It would not have been possible without their guidance and motivation. The silent auction and sponsorships for Swing for Joy, displayed the care, concern and generosity of New Mexico businesses and art communities for our special cancer community. GCAP is very thankful for their gracious support of our efforts. Their sharing was not only given in items or money but in gestures and words of encouragement that will not only sustain the GCAP mission and vision but has set-the-stage for GCAP to grow and be seen! Thank you to Guadalupe Daniel Ramirez and his entire team who put on a fabulous fashion show! We had so many volunteers that helped on the day of the event, who worked behind the scenes to make everything run seamlessly! Janet Longhurst, Roberta Carlson, Sandra Sanchez, Barbara Burrows, Kathy Courreges, Valerie Eustace, Joan Punt, Keith Porter, Karen Girvan and the Albuquerque Civitans to name a few. I’m sorry I didn’t mention everyone but ALL of you were needed and appreciated!!! We would like to especially THANK Luis Padilla Paz M.D. It is because of his unyielding support, knowledge and care that the Gynecological Cancer Awareness Project will be able to assist GYN cancer patients across New Mexico in 2011. To symbolize our gratitude, we presented Dr. Padilla with a quilt, handmade by his patients. Each square depicts their own journey through cancer while the entire quilt is a representation of all the women he has dedicated his life to help each and every day. The quilt will be on display in our office, hopefully, this Spring. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being a part of Swing for Joy-- A Survivorship Celebration! We are already planning our 2nd annual event. SAVE the DATE September 24th, 2011.
So how much money did all of this hard work generate? $27,000! What do we plan to do with the money? The lending library had been founded this past year with the vision and encouragement of Kay Haney PhD., to bring educational support to specifically the GYN cancer patient population. The Kay Haney Library represents the love and passion she had for education. One way your generosity will benefit the patients early in 2011, is to grow our little bookshelf into a large collection of books and to get a library management computer program to keep better track of the collection. We plan to host a speaker series, maybe put together a run/walk and support the Clever Senoras with their social activities. Stay tuned to our
newsletters and mailings to see more about the projects and plans GCAP will be providing our patients and their caregivers in 2011.
Finally, I need to THANK the Oncology Nursing Society and Carlin Callaway for the support and mentorship provided during my fellowship in their Leadership Development Institute (LDI). It was in a LDI conference 14 months ago that the idea for GCAP came to me. I had 2 goals…one was to do “something” for the patients in our office and the other was…it would ‘go on’ after the fellowship was complete. You can see that we have done amazing things in that short amount of time! We have generated a total of $40,000 and helped many, many women. I look forward to doing more and seeing what else we can accomplish.
By Amy Gundelach RN, BSN, OCN
Founder and Executive Director
The Gynecological Cancer Awareness Project
