Last Friday night, a group of my friends and family participated in the annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life. We walked the track from 7 p.m. – 1 a.m. in memory of my aunt Jill, and in honor of so many others who have fought cancer. I’m so proud of my team, The Dukes – we raised over $2,500 this year! Being 8 months pregnant, I didn’t walk as far as normal, but I still managed to get about 14,000 steps and keep that baby in! Here are a few highlights of the evening.
Saturday night was my 7th American Cancer Society Relay For Life event. I love Relay for so many reasons – from the cause, to the camaraderie, to the symbolism. A few of this year’s highlights:
Yesterday my office hosted its annual Bring Your Dog to Work Day in support of the American Cancer Society Bark For Life event. The day began with a doggie meet-and-greet, and the dogs hung out around the office throughout the day. We wrapped up the afternoon with an ice cream social, complete with ice cream doggie treats! I didn’t have a pup to bring to the event, but I did get to doggie-sit while one coworker was on a call. It definitely made for a lively day at the office!
Most every year I volunteer to take photos for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Kansas City. This is the second year I’ve had the honor of taking photos of the Kansas City Portraits of Hope – breast cancer survivors who share their stories and inspire others. Here are just a few of my favorite shots of these incredible individuals.
Friday night was my team’s fifth annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life event. I walk the track and fundraise in memory of my aunt Jill and in honor of many other friends and family. This year was a bit different – juggling team captain responsibilities and taking care of a four-month old was a challenge at times. And I didn’t get to take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked. This year we packed up around midnight rather than walking until 6 a.m. But our strong and mighty team has still raised over $3,000, and we aren’t finished yet! There’s still time to donate to the cause.
Check out photos from 2013, 2012, and 2011.
I posted a photo of the Kansas City Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Monday. Now that I’ve edited the other 300, I wanted to share a few more to give you a sense of this fabulous event. Kansas City raised over $400,000 for the American Cancer Society this year!
Saturday was the 5th annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event in Kansas City. This local American Cancer Society walk has grown from about 2,000 walkers 5 years ago to over 15,000 walkers and $400,000 raised this year! I was excited to be one of the official photographers again this year; more photos to come after I finish editing them.
After growing my hair out for about 2.5 years (or rather, not putting any effort into cutting it), I decided to donate 10 inches to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which partners with the American Cancer Society to make real hair wigs for women with cancer. Here are the before and after photos – what do you think? I guess you can call it my new “mom” haircut.
I was SO excited after capturing this photo – it’s perfect representation of our Relay For Life event on Friday night. It was a huge success – our event raised over $76,000, my team raised over $4600, and I raised over $1000 for the American Cancer Society. Let me know if you’re interested in purchasing this photo through etsy (choose your own photo option) or the contact me page – all proceeds will benefit Relay For Life. I’d love for our team to reach our $5000 fundraising goal!
I served as the photographer for an important event at the American Cancer Society yesterday – they received a check for $100,000 from Black & Veatch for our Kansas City Hope Lodge, a facility where cancer patients can stay free of charge during treatment. I got to hang out with the Secret Service and this famous man below. Do you recognize him? (Hint: If you live in Missouri or you’re big into U.S. Politics, you should probably know him.) Shamefully, I probably wouldn’t have recognized him if he strolled by me on the street until yesterday.
Speaking of donations to the American Cancer Society, Relay For Life is just one week away and I’m still fundraising! If you’d like to purchase a print of one of my photos, please visit my etsy site. 100% of proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.
Photographic Rhodes 