The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is one of North America’s largest labor organizations with more than 1.3 million members. UFCW has been a powerful voice for The Leukemia & Lymphoma (LLS) for 33 years, raising more than $80 million to support LLS's goal of creating a world without blood cancer since the partnership began.
In 2016 alone, UFCW generated more than $4.3 million in the United States and Canada through a variety of fundraising efforts ranging from golf outings to dinners.
Thousands of UFCW staff members participated in this year’s Light The Night Walk and raised nearly $300,000 and counting for LLS. UFCW continues to be a strong supporter of LLS’s fight against blood cancers, and their endless generosity continues to be appreciated.
This year, UFCW Local 1500 had a particularly special Light The Night Walk at Eisenhower Park in Long Island, NY. The team of 75 walkers marched in honor of the late Frank Meehan, who many referred to as the “Cancer Kicker." Their Light The Night team booth displayed a huge image of Frank, who lost his battle to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2014. He spent two decades leading the UFCW’s fundraising efforts to raise money for LLS to invest in research to find treatments and cures for blood cancers. As president of the Long Island, NY Local 1500, he was one of the first leaders to act upon the union’s national relationship with LLS.
In the spring of 2014, in a twist of fate, he ended up losing his life to one of the most aggressive forms of leukemia he’d been working so hard to see cured. The devoted husband, father, and grandfather was 75 years-old.
The Local 1500 2016 Light The Night team has raised more than $50,000 and counting, in honor of Frank. They also contributed a $15,000 sponsorship, something they had never done before.
Local 1500 President, Tony Speelman, was also the corporate walk chair for Long Island’s Light The Night Walk. He is the first UFCW President to serve in this capacity.
“Frank Meehan did so much for others and he was devoted to finding a cure for blood cancer. We will continue his legacy and fight this horrible disease in his honor,” said Tony Speelman. “Giving back to the community is the fabric of our union, and we are honored to be a part of helping The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society find a cure for blood cancer.”
UFCW Local 1500 Light The Night Team at Eisenhower Park, Long Island.
The UFCW, the largest private sector union in the country, represents workers in the grocery industry as well as nursing homes; retail clothing stores; poultry, meatpacking and food processing plants; and in numerous other retail and food manufacturing areas.
When I meet newly diagnosed cancer patients and their caregivers, a familiar look greets me. I have seen this look countless times. In waiting rooms, during a weekly support lunch for patients and caregivers, and on my own mother’s face.
It is a look of fear, confusion and doubt. It is a look that expresses the need for survival at all costs, yet without any assurance of success. It is a look that I can still see when I look in the mirror.
That look is often replaced almost immediately after I say: “Hi, my name is Ron. I am a leukemia and stem-cell transplant survivor.”
The second look is a look of hope and gratitude. It is a look of anxiety slipping away and making room, for a brief moment, for what may be possible ahead. It is a moment of sunlight in the looming darkness.
When faced with cancer, fear and hope quickly become part of the unpredictable rollercoaster of survival. It is an emotional, physical and psychological turmoil of exhaustion, frustration and exhilaration.
On October 3, 2012, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 34. After weeks of feeling sick, I walked into the emergency room at Nebraska Medicine. My doctor said I needed to begin treatment immediately. I called my family. Then, I closed my eyes.
My doctor told me that they were going to fight for my life, and that I needed to remain mentally strong throughout the process. I knew then, as I do now, that the future can be extremely unpredictable.
On February 18, 2013, I received a stem cell transplant from my sister, Dorit Azoulay. Today, I am in remission, but not without complications. I still experience fatigue, nerve damage, mood changes and anxiety. I also have chronic and severe graft versus host disease.
Over the past three years, I have had the opportunity to speak with patients, caregivers and the public about my experience with leukemia and my own recovery process.
As a volunteer with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I meet with newly diagnosed patients to provide them support and information. I also write blogs, conduct radio interviews and speak at blood cancer events.
These cathartic conversations and experiences allow me to come to terms with my own experience, while offering insight, hope and support for others facing cancer, as patients or caregivers. It is also an opportunity to educate those who are not aware of the devastating effects of blood cancers.
My role as a patient also forced me to find ways to help my medical team better understand my recovery. I have to pay close attention to my body, medications and their side effects, and to my own emotions in order to report back any changes. That way, my medical team knows how to react or adjust course accordingly.
In January, I was nominated by the LLS Nebraska Chapter to join the AML Community Stakeholder Committee. As part of the committee, I participated in an innovative research study led by LLS with Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. The study aims to capture patient preferences in regards to the development of treatments for AML.
On April 6, 2016, led by Dr. Louis DeGennaro, LLS President and CEO, and Bernadette O’Donoghue, Vice President, LLS’s Office of Public Policy, the committee went to Washington D.C. to share our personal experiences with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
The meeting was a round-table conversation among survivors, caregivers, LLS staff, doctors and the FDA. As survivors, we discussed our experiences with AML and treatment. We listened to each other share the terrifying similarities of our experiences, as well as the delicate differences that distinguish our individual outlooks, hopes and fears.
We spoke about the benefit and risk tradeoffs regarding clinical trials. We realized that we all shared a similar goal: that long-term quality of life must be an important consideration in regards to treatment options for patients. We’re continuing to advance this important issue, and I’m honored to lend my voice on behalf of other survivors.
As a patient, survivor and educator, I know that an important part of my healing and mental strength came from other survivors who, either in person or via social media, shared tips for recovery, offered encouraging words of support, wrote blogs, or came by to spend time with me and cheer me on the path towards recovery.
Early on, it became clear to me that once in recovery, I now had a responsibility to reach back and offer encouragement for others impacted by blood cancer. This responsibility, I found, is like a peak of sunlight on a cloudy day – one that offers hope and a chance for a better outcome ahead.
Ron Azoulay is a 40-year-old volunteer, educator and advocate living in Omaha, NE.
To say that Team In Training (TNT) teammates, Doug Dunbar, Robert Cornett and Christopher Trent, have been working hard over the past several months to prepare for Ironman World Championship, is putting it lightly. On October 8, not only did they complete the 140.6-mile iconic triathlon — they raised a record-breaking $450,000+!
The world-renowned triathlon in Kona, Hawaii, is one of the world’s most demanding athletic events – featuring a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. The trio joined more than 2,000 athletes from around the world.
All three TNT triathlon stars went the distance to prove that anything is possible – coming together in Hawaii with the common goal of supporting a cure for cancer. For each of them, the cause is personal. Here are their stories…
Chris’s Youngest Daughter is a 14-Year Survivor
On February 25, 2002, Chris’s youngest daughter, Monica, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at age 8. That year, his family joined TNT and has raised thousands for life-saving research.
Chris recognizes that if he had been diagnosed with ALL when he was age 8, his chances of survival would have been very poor. “By raising funds, we hope to protect other children, so their outcomes will be as good as Monica’s,” said Chris.
With his coach, family and friends cheering him on, Chris crossed the finish line smiling proudly.
Robert’s Four-Year-Old Daughter is a Survivor
In May 2012, Robert’s two-year-old daughter, Norah, was diagnosed with ALL. “We were heartbroken, but hopeful,” said Robert.
After two-and-a-half years and a long fight, Norah finally took her last chemotherapy pill. She is now in remission and is a happy and healthy first grader.
Robert knows that not everyone has the same outcome as Norah, and it is her story – and the stories of other families – that fuels his fire to support LLS.
LLS’s Mission Fuels CBS News Anchor Doug Dunbar
The CBS Dallas Fort Worth anchor, Doug says competing in the Ironman World Championship and raising over $450,000 with TNT was one of his most rewarding accomplishments.
Doug ran an incredible fundraising campaign using his media-savvy to garner awareness through weekly “Wednesday Warrior” segments, highlighting emotional visits with his “honored heroes,” local blood cancer patients, and visits with children at local hospitals.
Before crossing the finish line, Doug reflected on those visits. “When I crossed the finish line after 14 incredible, and at times very difficult hours, I did so with my honored heroes carrying me through, including Roberts’s daughter Norah. I could feel them all day, their strength, and determination. What an absolute honor, to have represented them, Team in Training and LLS."
Team In Training's triathlon program allows multisport athletes of all experience levels to support the LLS mission through a variety of challenging event experiences – from elite Ironman events to Olympic and Sprint triathlons. To learn more, visit TeamInTraining.org.
