? . Photo by Lay la Farmer
Shenell Thompson (far right) with Stylists Monica Howie, Myra Adams and Temeshia
Brown of Hair Elegance II.
Expanding the Circle
Breast Cancer benefit geared for black women
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Every day for the last three
months, Shenell Thompson
has added the same accessory
to her wardrobe: a pair of pink
ribbon breast cancer aware
ness earrings. It's just one of
the many things Thompson is
doing to try to spare others
from the heartache her family
has suffered as a result of the
disease.
"I'm just an advocate of
women taking care of them
selves," she related. . .every
day that we wake up as women
and we're not having to deal
with the disease, that makes us
: survivors, too."
Thompson, the director of
Education at Consumer Credit
Counseling Services,' has lost
two aunts to breast cancer in
the last two years. One of
them, Doris Mickens, was
only 57 when she was diag
nosed with the disease.
Mickens passed away in July.
"I saw the impact that it
had on my family," Thompson
said, "...that was devastating
to me."
As Thompson. 34, watched
Mickens in her final days, she
vowed that she would work to
make a difference in her own
community.
"1 realized at that point that
there was nothing 1 could do
for her, buti said 'I have to do
something to make sure that
her life matters,"' Thompson
related.
Though she has always
paid attention to her own
health, making sure she did
monthly breast self examina
tions and scheduling mammo
grams as recommended,
Thompson says she hadn't
given much thought to raising
the awareness in the communi
ty at large until her aunts were
diagnosed. She began
researching breast cancer in
black women, and stumbled
upon some unsettling informa
tion.
"Once I started doing
research, it really just changed
my perspective," Thompson
related. . the myth is that we
(black women) don't get
exams and we don't take care
of ourselves, but statistics
show that we develop a more
aggressive form of the dis
? ease." " ? -
The more she learned
about breast cancer and how
deeply it affected the women
in her community, the more
Thompson says she wanted to
reach out and affect positive
change, She is hopeful the
Circle of Promise Brunch slat
ed for Oct. 24. will help her do
just that,
"What I really want to do is
just to bring together KX) black
women to talk about how we
cajv change the outcome."
Thompson said. "...
Especially for the African
American community, when
we're diagnosed, it's as if a
bear is on our backs; we don't
have time to play with it."
The name for the brunch
was borrowed from the Susan
G. Komen Foundation's Circle
of Promise initiative, which is
also geared towards mobiliz
ing African American women
in the fight against breast can
cer,
"For some who have lost
loved ones, it's going to be a
healing process." Thompson
said of the event. "For others,
it'll be a way to talk to the peo
ple they care about."
The event will be held at
Greater Faith Deliverance
Center, where Thompson's
father, Dr. John McCTurkin, is
pastor, and will feature a can
dle lighting ceremony in mem
ory of those who have been
lost to breast cancer; a panel
discussion with a handful of
survivors; and a pinning cere
mony. where each woman will
receive a breast cancer aware
ness lapel pin.
"We'll make a promise that
we'll be our sister's keeper,"
Thompson said. "Every
woman is going to pin the
woman beside her. and that's
the Circle of Promise."
Thompson's hair stylist,
Monica Howie, is one of the
sponsors for the Circle of
Promise.
"I've always supported
breast cancer awareness," said
Howie, who has owned Hair
Elegance II salon for the last
decade. "I've had several
clients of mine be diagnosed
with breast cancer."
Despite its prevalence,
Howie believes breast cancer
is still a taboo subject for
some.
"A lot of black women
have a stigma of talking about
it; it's almost like a hush-hush
subject," she related. "(But)
it's something dear to my
heart."
Thompson hopes to start
an online dialogue about breast
cancer in black women, and
plans make the Circle of
Promise an annual event.
Circle of Promise Brunch
will be held Saturday, October
24, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at
Greater Faith Deliverance
Center. 520 Glenbrook Drive.
Tickets are $10.00 and $5.00
of each donation will be given
to Susan G Komen foundation
for additional research.
Tickets will be available for
purchase through Oct. 20 at
the church, (336) 723-1777.
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H.
Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every
Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc., 617
N. Liberty Street. Winston-Salem. N.C. 27101. Periodicals
postage paid at Winston-Salem. N.C. Annual subscription price
Is $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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Winston-Salem. NC 27102-1636
K3B0 WAKE FOREST
UNIVF. nitlTV
ICIIOOL of DIVINITY
Dr. J. D. Ballard, Pastor Emeritus
United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist
Tuesday, October 20th. 1 1:00 a.m.
Wait Chapel
"A Personal Commitment to God"
Free and open to the public
www.divinity.wfu.edu
News
Clips
"BBQ & Boogie"
fundraiser to benefit
Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Forsyth County will hold its
first-ever "BBQ & Boogie"
fund-raiser on Saturday,
October 17. from 6 to 11
p.m. at Corpening Plaza in
downtown Winston-Salem.
Mr. Barbeque will pro
vide the barbecue dinner,
and two local bands
(Katelyn Marks and
Knuckles Deep) will provide
the boogie. The event also
includes a beer/wine bar and
a silent auction, says Lisa
Riser, the coordinator for
Special Olympics Forsyth
County.
Advance tickets are $25
each or $20 when purchased
in groups of two or more,
and are on sale through the
Special Olympics Forsyth
County office at 2301 N.
Patterson Ave., Winston
Salem, by calling 727-2425
or online at
www.firstgiving.com/bbqan
dboogie. Tickets at the door
will be $30.
CROP Walks planned for
Saturday
CROP Hunger Walks
will be held on Sunday, Oct.
18 at three Forsyth County
locations: Corpening Plaza
in downtown Winston
Salem; Fourth of July Park
in Kernersville; and
Tanglewood Park in
Clemmons. Registration
begins at 1:30 p.m. and the
walks begin at 2:30 p.m.
The walks support the
national and global work of
Church World Service, as
well as local hunger allevia
tion programs of Crisis
Control Ministry and
Sunnyside Ministry. More
than 140 congregations,
businesses, community
organizations and school
groups have pledged to
walk. The goal is to attract
1 ,300 walkers and raise
$67,000.
There are 37 CROP
Walks held across North
Carolina during the month
of October. Nationally, over
$264,859,600 has been
raised by CROP walkers
over the past 20 "years.
For additional informa
tion, go to
www.crisiscontrol.org.
WFDD one-day fund drive
receives overwhelming
support
On Wednesday, Oct. 7,
88.5 WFDD, the public
radio sta- ,
t i o n
licensed to
Wake
F p r e s t
University,
attempted
to con
dense its
normal
t e n - d a y Franklin
pledge
drive into just one day. As
of 5 p.m. on Oct. 8, the sta
tion had raised 1,303
pledges toward its overall
goal of 1 ,800 pledges.
WFDD General Manager
Denise Franklin stated,
"Wednesday, October 7th,
was our single most success
ful pledge drive day in sta
tion history. Our on-air
efforts on that day brought
in an unprecedented 934
pledges equaling $94,103.
During the pre -drive pro
motion we received 340
pledge* equaling $40,841.
Our total amount raised so
far is SI 38,723. While we
didn't quite reach our goal,
dozens of listeners told us
they appreciated the abbre
viated pledge drive. A one
day pledge drive is a huge
change in the giving habits
of our listeners. 1 am confi
dent they will rise to the
occasion and help us make
up the remaining pledges we
still need."
Public invited to learn at
evening and weekend
degree programs at YVSSl
Winston-Salem State
University's Evening
Weekend Programs (EWP)
will host an open house for
prospective students on
Thursday. Oct. 22. from 6 - 8
p.m. in the Chancellor's
Dining Room of the Albert
H. Anderson Conference
Center.
During the session,
prospective students will
have the opportunity to
kxploi? various degree
options and be provided
information on how they can
earn their four year degree
'entirely during evenings and
weekends. Dress forjhe ses
sion wijl be casual, and com
pleted application forms will
be accepted from prospects.
Evening-Weekend
Programs offer motivated
adult learners the opportuni
ty to earn their bachelor's
degree after work in four
years or less.
To learn more about
WSSU's Evening-Weekend
Programs, visit
www.wssu.edu. call
336.750.Z709, or contact
Larry Arhagba at 336-750
2250 or email him at arhag
bala@wssu.edu.
GETTING THE RIGHT TREATMENT QUICKLY
HELPED ME RECOVER FROM MY STROKE
ROBIN SCHNEIDER WAS A HEALTHY 47-YEAR OLD with no known risk factors
for a stroke... yet without warning, she had one.
"Suddenly I started seeing triple," she said. "I knew I needed emergency care quickly."
Fortunately, Robin was immediately taken to Wake Forest Baptist's Emergency
Department. Our experts diagnosed her stroke and treated Robin within minutes.
Getting the right treatment quickly was essential to Robin's recovery. Coming to
Wake Forest Baptist, the area's only academic medical center, also gave Robin
access to the latest stroke care research and clinical trials. She currently is enrolled
in our stroke prevention study, which tracks her health and answers her questions
about recovery.
Our Stroke Center has board-certified stroke physicians who are on call 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. We also have a dedicated hospital unit for stroke patients
and outpatient rehabilitation staffed by doctors, nurses and therapists with advanced
stroke care training.
To learn more about stroke treatment, warning signs or risk factors, call Health On
Call? at 1-800-446-2255 or visit wfubmc.edu/neuro And whatever your insurance,
chances are we take it.
KNOWLEDGE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
Since 1993, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
has been consistently ranked as one of America's best hospitals
by U.S.News & World Report
Wake Forest University Baptist
1 A FSFWti JJfc A J-M?
Comprehensive Stroke Center