August 21, 2008

Turlock - Not all the competition will be in China this August.

 

Closer to home, more than 300 community and Emanuel employee volunteers will compete in an event that is in many ways more important than the Olympics.

 

The event is Legacy Circle, Emanuel Medical Center’s annual fundraising campaign, and the winners get more than a gold medal.

 

They get the satisfaction of knowing they’ve helped cure someone of cancer.

 

“We’re working to raise $4 million to support ongoing programs at Emanuel’s cancer center through the new Emanuel Cancer Endowment,” explained Bill Gibbs, the community chairman of the effort. “We raised over a million last year and hope to beat that this time.”

 

In its eighth year, Legacy Circle has already accomplished some amazing things in Turlock. It built Emanuel’s new state-of-the-art emergency room and the Mary Stuart Rogers Birthing Center.

 

“Legacy Circle brings in 42 percent of all the fundraising dollars to the hospital,” said Shirley Pok, Emanuel’s vice president of development. “It’s brought some major new services to the community.”

 

This year’s campaign, which kicks off August 21 and runs for six weeks, is the second year in a three-year effort to create the Emanuel Cancer Endowment. The permanent $4 million endowment would earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest every year to support and enhance cancer programs at Emanuel Regional Cancer Services.

 

“The endowment will support research and support groups and community education and cancer prevention efforts,” said Emanuel President and CEO John Sigsbury. “It will be a lasting gift to the community that will give back for generations to come.”

 

Emanuel Medical Center launched its cancer treatment programs last year with new cutting-edge equipment and partners, including Stanford Hospitals & Clinics and the Stanford University School of Medicine. The endowment is designed to support and enhance those existing medical treatments.

 

Gibbs said people in the community support the new fundraising effort.

 

 

“When you say you’re creating an endowment for cancer, it strikes a chord with everybody,” he said. “There is not a family that hasn’t been touched by this disease.”

 

Legacy Circle itself is organized like a sports league. Captains recruit volunteers for their teams, and the teams are organized into divisions. Hospital employees have their own division, and everyone competes to do their best.

 

“It’s competitive, but in a good way,” Gibbs said. “We’ve been blessed with a lot of generous people in Turlock.”

 

But it’s not just Turlock.

 

“We have a lot of volunteers from surrounding communities,” explained Jana Rhine, Emanuel’s director of annual giving. “We’re grateful to have volunteers from all corners of our service area.”

 

And they all share a goal: A community without cancer.

 

“Could there be a better cause?” Rhine said.

 

For more information on Legacy Circle, the Emanuel Cancer Endowment or to join, please contact the Office of Development at (209) 664-5180.