Bow News : fundraiser

Bow Garden Club members team up to raise money to fight breast cancer

Bow Editor — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:32:00 GMT

For many of the participants in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk in Concord, there is a personal story that brings them to the track each year.

Joyce Kimball and Ginny Urdi are no exception. The two Bow residents will be one of 24 Bow Garden Club members and friends who will take part in the event, walking the track at Concord’s Memorial Field to raise money as a team called Dot’s Diggers.

Kimball, Urdi and the rest of the group will be walking in the Sunday, Oct. 19, Making Strides event in honor of the event, as they are among those who came together to work on the replanting of the “Garden of Hope,” a ribbon-shaped flower garden at Memorial Field.

Each summer, volunteers plant the garden and then replant it in October with pink chrysanthemums in time for the event.

“It’s quite impressive. Right now it has the different shades of pink in it,” said Ursi, the club’s president. “You look at it and you think about what it’s all about. People see it there all the time, and sometimes people sit on the bench down there and just reflect.”

Kimball said seeing the number of people at her first walk was an unforgettable feeling.

“The first time I did it was five years ago. I’ve been doing it ever since. I was totally overwhelmed,” said Kimball. “It was just elbow-to-elbow people, and it was just a thrill to be part of that. It’s a huge feeling of support for past, present and future.”

Urdi said hearing the stories of others at the event is a big part for her as well.

“It’s the camaraderie of meeting other people involved with the walk and making strides,” she said. “It gives you a feeling of belonging to the group and doing something good that others can see.”

Although for the past several years she has taken part in the annual walk in Concord, Kimball said this year will have special meaning as she makes her laps around the track wearing a shirt with her sister’s name on it.

“I get very enthused, but it will have more sentiment and a personal clutch on my heart because I don’t know what’s down the road for my sister,” said Kimball. “The first thing I said when she told me the news was that I had all the more to walk for.”

For information about the Sunday, Oct. 19, Making Strides Walk, call 738-4404. Registration the day of event begins at 11 a.m. Opening ceremonies are at 12:30 p.m., and the walk begins at 1 p.m.

Couple supports cancer research with 200-mile ride

Bow Editor — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:31:00 GMT

BY KEVIN SHALVEY

Nancy and Howard Roever came to speed-biking at different times -- he before their marriage and she when the couple started riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge, an annual bike tour to raise money for cancer research.

“He’s always biked. Since the Pan-Mass Challenge, I just got involved and I love it. But, I’m no Lance Armstrong,” said Nancy.

This year, the Bow couple will undertake the two-day, 200-mile bike ride to honor Sammy, an 8-year-old Bow girl who has bone cancer.

Sammy was diagnosed with cancer in July 2006 and, in January 2007, had one of her legs amputated above the knee.

“I have two kids of my own, and I just couldn’t imagine that,” said Howard, who will trek the Pan-Mass Challenge on Aug. 4 and 5.

The two will ride as part of a team for the Aug. 3 and 4 ride from Wellesley, Mass., to Provincetown, Mass., a route for which each participant must raise at least $3,600.

The Roevers started participating in the Pan-Mass Challenge through Nancy’s work at a pharmaceutical sales company.

The company was planning to sponsor the race in some way -- maybe supporting a rest stop -- but Nancy had a different idea.

“There were a lot of people in our district who were athletic, so I said, ‘Let’s ride,’” Nancy said.

And there’s a rest stop on the course dedicated to children with cancer, Nancy said.

“It’s sad because when you’re riding in they have these huge photos on the lawn,” she said.

“It’s a pretty neat ride. It can be tough at times but it’s pretty scenic, especially as you get near the end on the Cape,” said Roever.

Biking isn’t new for Howard Roever, so the 200-mile ride should be no sweat, although it is graded as “more difficult” on www.pmc.org.

“When I was younger, I used to do a lot of touring,” he said.

Now that he’s married with two children, Roever doesn’t get onto the bike as much as he used to. Along with the Pan-Mass Challenges, though, he did participate in a six-day ride across Montana in 2001.

The Roevers ask that anyone who wants to donate to the Pan-Mass Challenge for Sammy do so before Sept. 1. Donors should write a check payable to the Pan-Mass Challenge and mail it to Nancy Roever at 9 Kelso Drive, Bow, NH 03304.

“If everybody in town could give $5, just think of how much we could raise,” Howard said.

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Each year, about 900 Americans of all ages are diagnosed with it. Of those, about 400 are younger than 20 years old.

For more information about the Pan-Mass Challenge, visit www.pmc.org.

Rock ’N Race – Bow team top fundraisers at 2006 event

Bow Editor — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:30:00 GMT

After losing her husband to cancer, Bow resident Sue Robinson decided to get involved with the Ocean National Rock ’N Race, which raises money to support Concord Hospital’s Payson Center for Cancer Care.

Her husband, Brian, was an avid runner and was frequently seen running in Concord. He died in December 2002, and Robinson started a team in her husband’s memory for the first Rock ’N Race in 2003. The team, named “Friends of Brian Robinson,” started with about 70 members and has grown to more th an 150 members.

“The event seemed like the perfect way to remember him and honor his memory as he was always a great runner and many people remember him in his perfect stride running down the streets of Concord,” said Robinson.

This year’s Rock ’N Race, a 5-kilometer run/walk, will take place Wednesday, May 16, at 6 p.m., on the State House lawn. Ten bands will perform along the route.

“The Rock ’N Race provides an activity in which my children can also participate and feel their father’s presence in those gathered around us,” said Robinson. “By participating in the Rock ’N Race, we raise money, hope and awareness about cancer and its effect on each and every one of us.”

Robinson and Barbara Meighan serve as the co-captains for “Friends of Brian Robinson.”

Meighan worked with Brian Robinson at Jefferson-Pilot Financial (now known as Lincoln Financial Group). Meighan recruits fellow employees and friends, and Robinson gathers friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. In 2006, “Friends of Brian Robinson” was the top fundraising team, raising more than $10,000. The team has also received recognition for having the largest number of team members.

“This is with many thanks to Barbara Meighan and her colleagues and Jefferson Pilot Financial as they have provided matching funds for the past four years,” said Robinson.

This year, Robinson said she would like to continue the tradition of being the largest team and the largest fundraising team.

Bow POPS hosts talent show for a new grand piano

Bow Editor — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:37:00 GMT

BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Some of the area’s most talented and, in some cases, unheralded musicians will be singing, dancing, playing instruments and raising money for their Bow High School music department.

The Bow POPS (Parents of Performing Arts Students) will host a fundraising talent show Saturday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Bow High School auditorium. Proceeds will help buy a new grand piano for Bow High School, a cause the Bow POPS has taken up over the past year. The new piano will replace a 18-year-old piano the high school purchased used 10 years ago when the school first opened.

“We deliberated and talked about a lot of possible fundraising events and decided that a talent show of parents of students who will benefit from the piano would be a good draw,” said Linda Ashford, event coordinator. We think people will want to come to this.”

After sending an e-mail investigating the feasibility of a talent show, Ashford said she immediately received 13 replies offering assistance, eight of which wanted to perform. Of the 15-16 people who will participate, either solo or in a group, all but three live in Bow, said Ashford.

Those involved will show off their talents by singing, and/or playing the piano, the guitar, the drums, the bassoon or a number of other instruments. Most participants are parents or Bow High School alumni.

According to Ashford, POPS has raised roughly $12,000 toward the $28,000 to $30,000 it needs to purchase the new grand piano. If all goes well, POPS could be $5,000 closer to its goal.

Modern Woodmen of America, a fraternal life insurance society, has offered to match up to $2,500 raised through the talent show, said Ashford. In addition, the society has provided all the fliers, posters and tickets for the show, presenting POPS with a virtually cost-free event. The only cost to POPS will be printing the programs, which Ashford said will be of minimal expense.

Therefore, most of the profits will go toward the new piano. “It doesn’t finish it, but it brings us real close to where we need to be to get this piano,” said Ashford.

Event fliers have been sent home to parents and posters have been placed throughout Bow and Concord. Though the majority of piano money funds has been raised by elementary through high school students, POPS has had several fundraisers and Ashford hopes the talent show will be the most profitable yet.

“The grand piano is our largest project and we’re hoping the talent show is our largest fundraiser,” said Ashford. “We’re possibly going to be putting $5,000 toward this piano with this event, which hasn’t cost us much except for the fear of getting us on stage.”

If successful, Ashford said POPS will make the talent show an annual event to raise money for their various projects. In addition to the grand piano, POPS has raised money for several purchases in the past, including drums for the high school, uniforms for the color guard, and bells for the middle school, and other music department necessities.

The Bow High School Music Department includes more than a quarter of the student population, a high percentage for a music program and something, Ashford said, doesn’t go unnoticed by supporters.

“It’s definitely worth supporting them and because we’ve been doing this so long, we can take a little credit for their success, but not much. Most of it is Bill Metevier,” she said.

Metevier is the head of the Bow High School music department and over the past several years, members of his music department have traveled as far as Canada and brought home numerous awards for their talent and dedication.

But, Metevier said, it couldn’t be done without the POPS’ contributions. “The Bow POPS has, as its mission, to be supportive of performing arts and to that end they have done a great job,” said Metevier, who has lead the music program for eight years. “Can I do it without them? Absolutely not. Their support is essential. The size of the enrollment of our program is very strong and with the staff we have, we try to do a lot with what we have to work with, so we really are dependent on volunteerism.

“We’ve been able to provide extra parts for the program, where we have instruments that we wouldn’t have if not for the contributions of the POPS.”

But a new grand piano will be the biggest and the most important gift to the department, Metevier said.

“The instrument we’re looking to replace is an instrument that isn’t intended, nor is it designed for the task at hand. We’re looking for something that will last,” he said. “The piano we currently use is intended to be stationary at home and doesn’t hold up well for the demands of a high school music program.”