News from the American Cancer Society, SCV Unit

 ‘Yule’ Love This! Holiday Shopping While Fighting Cancer
The American Cancer Society invites community members to ring in the holidays at its Annual Relay For Life Holiday Boutique. Slated for Saturday, November 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Santa Clarita United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, the event will offer a wide array of wonderful items for sale. Among the goods, many of them lovingly hand-made by talented ACS volunteers/Relay For Life team members: Beautiful and distinctive all-occasion “Cards for a Cure”;  stunning sea glass jewelry;  “Soap For A Cure” (hand-made designer soaps made from goat’s milk); “Toys For A Cure” (toys from Small World Toys); “We Remember” (hand-made quilts); One Blanket At A Time (hand-made fleece blankets); Heather’s Crusaders’ hand-made Christmas wreaths and boutique baby attire; Pampered Chef; Jamberry Nail Wraps; Younique Makeup: Thirty-One Bags and Totes; festive table runners; decorative signs;  children’s’ dance costumes; high fashion clothing; scarves; hats; jewelry, “healing hearts”; delicious homemade jams, jellies, and breads, and much more.
“Our annual boutique creates a cheer-filled holiday environment where you can find just the right gifts, whether for yourself or others,” stated boutique coordinator Kathleen Pavard, who throughout the year creates Cards For a Cure, with all proceeds going to the ACS. Philanthropist Pavard also provides notary services, again, with all fees going to the American Cancer Society. “It’s going to be an exciting boutique this year — our vendors came on board early on in the planning process. We’re filled up, which is great, and that means we’ll have something for everyone.”
Monies raised help go toward the coming year’s Relay For Life fund. Relay, a 24-hour outdoor team-walking event held in communities across the country, help the volunteer-driven non-profit provide free programs and services, including support, cancer prevention and treatment information, free transportation to oncology treatments, and free wigs for women who suffer from hair loss due to cancer treatment and advocacy.  The funds are also critical for enabling groundbreaking ACS scientific research which has led to many discoveries, successful treatments, and lives saved. Since its inception in 1946, the ACS has invested some $4.6 billion in cancer research.
The ACS boutique is a fun Christmas gift-shopping experience that helps to fight cancer in a positive manner, stated veteran ACS volunteer Nancy Coulter.
“We welcome everyone to be a part of the wonderful work that the American Cancer Society does for us all because we all know someone who has battled this disease,” said Coulter, whose beloved daughter Heather Warrick, ACS SCV Unit Health Programs Manager, fought metastatic breast cancer for 19 years until her death four years ago. “Cancer is a disease that can affect anyone at any time. Our yearly boutique is a terrific way to ring in the holiday spirit while helping all those who are fighting cancer.”
For further holiday boutique information contact Kathleen Pavard at SpecialEvents@SCVRelay.org or call 661-755-4468. Santa Clarita Methodist Church is located at 26640 Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus. The ACS Santa Clarita Valley office is located at 25020 Avenue Stanford, suite 170 in Valencia and they can be reached at 661-298-0886 option 3. You may also call the ACS’ main number at 1-800-227-2345 (available 24/7) or go to www.cancer.org to learn about the ACS’ many programs, services, community activities/volunteering, and cutting-edge research efforts.
November 16: Kicking Butts with the Great American Smoke Out
Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. Despite that fact, nearly 40-million Americans continue to light up. Currently, 8.6 million people live with serious, debilitating illnesses caused by smoking, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease.
To better educate communities about the hazards of smoking, and ultimately help people kick the habit, the American Cancer Society holds its annual Great American Smokeout on the third Thursday in November (this year, it’s Nov. 16). The American Cancer Society — the Official Sponsor of Birthdays — urges smokers to give up all forms of tobacco (including vape sticks) for at least this one day, then hopefully for their lifetime. Don’t let your health go up in smoke!
To learn about the available stop-smoking resources and tools, call 1-800-227-2345, or go online to www.Cancer.org/smokeout.
Community Writer Sought for Volunteer ACS Position
For nearly 18 years I have had the honor of writing about the American Cancer Society, first as a health/features reporter for local media and then, since 2005, an ACS SCV Unit volunteer and leadership council member.
To everything there is a season, and now, as I wind down that role, I’d like to extend a big welcome mat to anyone who would be interested in picking up the torch. If you have a love for communication, writing, and supporting the ACS and your community, please give us a call.This is a wonderful opportunity to spread your philanthropic writing wings while making some of the best friends you will ever have, many of them connected through cancer, and forever joined at the heart.
If interested, please call the ACS office at 661-298-0886 option 3. Thank you.