It doesn’t recognize age or race, skin color or ethnicity. There is no known cause, and the search for a cure continues.
Leukemia and lymphoma are two very deadly forms of blood-based cancers. According to recent statistics from the Canadian Cancer Society, more than 4,000 Canadian men and women will be diagnosed with leukemia in 2007, and 6,800 will be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Another 880 will be diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma.
One of those Canadians is Dianne Zahodnik – currently working part-time as a Broker with Sutton Group – Professional Realty Inc. Recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Dianne was the inspiration for a garage sale and barbecue that took place on June 2, 2007 in the parking lot of the company’s Orangeville, Ont. office.
The event was promoted through flyers posted around the city, in the offices and through advertisements in the local papers. Volunteers ran the event and provided the garage sale items, and most of the barbecue food was donated. And after a long day behind the grill and the cash register, a total of $1,300 was raised for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Meli Colucci – broker with Sutton Group – Professional Realty Inc and Brampton Real Estate Board member – has been fund-raising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for the past three years.
Through Meli’s efforts – as well as the charitable work of her husband Fedele and his partner Rui Alves – over $27,000 has been raised for the society to date. “It doesn’t take too much time to help someone; if everyone did a little bit, we can all make a difference,” Meli said.
Meli will continue to fundraise for her next full marathon, which takes place in October and gives patients like Dianne hope that a cure will be found. In the meantime, Dianne has taken a leave from work to look after her condition and get some rest. The Sutton Group offices are looking forward to holding the fund-raising garage sale and barbecue again next year, but are even more excited about the full time return of Dianne.
