The Sun in Yuma, Ariz. receives top fund-raising honors from American Cancer Society

March 24, 2009 - The Sun in Yuma, Ariz. received a Top Fundraising Team award by The American Cancer Society for raising more than $31,000 as part of its annual Relay For Life event - the largest amount for a fund-raising team across a four-state region (Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico). The Sun's contribution elevated the city's 2008 fund-raising totals to more than $171,000, the largest amount in Arizona.




The Sun's team, Freedom Fighters For a Cure, has received this honor in previous years. The Relay For Life event encourages the community to walk overnight in support of friends and family who have been affected - directly or indirectly - by cancer. More than 3,000 people in Yuma participated in this event in 2008. The 2009 event will be held May 2-3 in Yuma.

Associates in Yuma have deep roots in supporting the Relay For Life event, as well as personal connections in battling cancer.

The Sun's team was originally named Muriel's Freedom Fighters, in honor of former associate Muriel Freeman, who passed away from the disease in late 1997.

The Sun's team co-captain, retail sales manager John Courtis (pictured above with sister Mary, wife Deb and daughter Emily, from left to right) is a five-year cancer survivor. John and Deb Courtis, along with IT manager Kathy White, serve as co-captains for The Sun's fund-raising team, which already has more than 30 members participating in the relay event this year.

"We do a variety of simple fund-raising efforts throughout the year - 50/50 raffles, silent auctions, quilt raffles, Internet Bingo games, rolled taco sales, salad bar lunches and wearing jeans on Thursdays and Fridays - whatever it takes," Courtis said. "A big hit of late has been our poker tournaments, which raise between $1,000 and $1,300 each time. The prizes are all donated by local businesses for all of our events, and our donor list keeps getting bigger and bigger."

The Freedom Fighters For a Cure team was also a finalist for the Terry Zahn Award, given to the community that best supports the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life effort.