They say lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice. In our family, it has struck three times. Ten years ago, our grandmother, Vivian Haley, had a radical mastectomy as a result of having a second occurrence of breast cancer in the same side. In early 2008, both of her daughters, Julie Harshman and Connie Nagy were diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, both sisters have gone through chemotherapy together. Julie’s was a six months followed by six months of radiation. While Connie went through 18 weeks of chemotherapy followed by a year of Herceptin treatments. Most sisters go through life sharing clothes and pictures; our mothers shared nausea and wigs.
This whole experience has inspired Connie, Julie, and their brother, Albert’s children to give to the search for a cure. We want to help others going through the same fight. The financial burden of paying for wigs, taking off work, or covering rising medical expenses beyond insurance coverage can be overwhelming for a cancer patient and their family. Therefore to help in the fight, we have formed a nonprofit group called the Haley Family Foundation. Coupled with Dayton Firefighters Local 136, we are going to host our fourth annual charity volleyball tournament.
PALS FOR LIFE is a local charity that helps women who cannot afford wigs or other costs associated with treatment. Last year we gave this charity $800. We will also be donating to and walking in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in October. Every year, a percentage of our tournament money goes to this walk. Last year, in addition to those causes, we helped three local women with their bills as their insurance or sick leave had run out. This year, we want to help even more people!
We are hoping to do our part to raise more awareness of the disease. Breast cancer enters people’s lives every day, not just in October and May.
Any donation can be made out to Dayton Firefighters Local 136 and will be tax deductable. Any donations valued at $100 or more will buy a spot for your business’ logo on the tournament t-shirts (file must be in .eps or .ai format). If you do not have a logo, we will create one for you.
Our tournament will be held Saturday June 11, 2011 at Setters Volleyball Club in Dayton. Come out and sponsor a team and join the festivities!
Thank you for your support.
The Haley Family Foundation:
Dan and Chris (Nagy) WilsonSean and Meghan Harshman
John and Alisha (Nagy) ChmielHeather (Harshman) Morningstar
Mike and Beth (Nagy) SliperTony and Liz Haley
Dani Estridge and Debbie NagyTim and Kim Haley
EIN: 80-0202039
