Our friends at the Downtown Knit Collective (downtown Toronto's knitting guild) are taking part in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life, in support of the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre. God willing, none of us will ever have need, but if we do, I know I'll be happy that the extremely skilled staff at Sunnybrook is there.
In their own words ....
Our team spins and knits through the
night, creating chemo caps, scarves, and shawls as hugs for people
undergoing cancer treatment. Joan Kass, special events
coordinator at the DKC, calls the knit items they make and give away
- hugs. "I was working at a healthcare
clinic and one of the girls, Sharon, had a reoccurrence of breast
cancer. I thought, "What can I do for Sharon?" Kass
remembers. "I knew I couldn't go to treatment with her because I
was working so I thought, I'll make her a scarf and when she wears it
she'll remember that I'm thinking of her."
Joan's story got me thinking and questioning how close I am to cancer. These are the people in my life touched by cancer:
- my sister-in-law's father, prostate + bone cancer, deceased last week
- my dad's life-long friend Ian, lung cancer (from smoking) + bone cancer, deceased
- my cousin Jason, lymphoma, survived
- my sister-in-law's mother, survived cancer three times
- my friend Weronika's husband, brain cancer, deceased
- my friend Maggie's mother, lung, bone + brain cancer, deceased
- my grandfather, leukemia, deceased
- my great grandfather, leukemia, deceased
- my grandmother, breast cancer, survived
The list was longer than I expected, and it doesn't include clients.
So if you haven't already donated all
your disposable income to charitable requests from co-workers, friends, and family, please
consider donating a few tax deductible dollars via some very generous knitters.
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