Light the Night

There's perhaps no more frightening news than a diagnosis of cancer. But thanks to increasingly sophisticated treatment options, more cancer patients than ever are beating the disease.

But you don't have to be a scientist to make a meaningful contribution to the fight. You can do your share by participating in the upcoming Light the Night fund-raising walks for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Newland Community's FishHawk Ranch will be one of four venues for the one-and-a-half-mile walk, slated for Oct. 14.

Thousands of FishHawk Ranch residents will gather at beautiful Park Square to walk or watch a parade of walkers stream past carrying battery-lit red or white balloons. White is for survivors, red is for supporters.

Afterwards, participants will celebrate in Park Square-FishHawk Ranch's lively new downtown in its Garden District neighborhood-for live music, food, libations and fun.

Last year alone, 3,000 FishHawk Ranch walkers raised $150,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In total, Light the Night participants raised $500,000 from all four walks, says Kathy Whitney, executive director for the local chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

"It's a huge impact," she says.

Almost all the money is poured right back into finding a cure for blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma.

Whitney says that teams are encouraged to participate, whether it's a family walking together, a group of company employees or a group of friends.

One of the area's largest and most successful teams is that fielded by Windward Homes. The builder's effort raised $50,000 last year alone.

Windward's involvement is bittersweet, explains marketing director Sharon Donofrio.

In 2000, company founders Chad Horne and Dave Nader launched a formal charitable giving plan. After investigating several agencies, the two decided to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Children's Cancer Research Group at Tampa Children's Hospital at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Horne and Nader came up with the concept of building a Dream Home, then donating the proceeds of the home's sale to those organizations.

Ironically, just months later, Horne's 10-year-old son Kevin was diagnosed with leukemia. Two years later the little boy, who had touched the hearts of Windward's employees with his courage and humor, lost his battle.

Still, his parents and Windward continued to support finding a cure for cancer through building annual Dream Homes and, later, participating in Light the Night walks.

"Kevin's illness was a tipping point," says Horne. "It catalyzed people into action-and the action has been enormous."

Donofrio recalls meeting with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at FishHawk Ranch while breaking ground on the fourth Dream Home. Enthusiasm proved to be contagious, and FishHawk developers asked if one of the walks could take place in the community.

"Newland threw their weight behind the event," says Donofrio. "They got all the residents charged up."

Actually, "charged up" might be something of an understatement.

For a place like FishHawk Ranch, where family values are a community cornerstone, the presence of the walk was a call to action. Consequently, there was no shortage of participants.

Donofrio recalls on the morning of the walk, a FishHawk Ranch employee prayed that the event would raise at least $60,000. The total that year: $110,000.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest volunteer health organization dedicated to blood cancer research, education and patient services, such as financial aid, support groups for patients and families and awarding research grants.

In Tampa, Dr. Cameron Tebbi, director of the Pediatric Cancer Department at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa, is hard at work overseeing a group of researchers trying to find new ways to deal with common childhood cancers, such as leukemia and neuroblastoma.

"It's absolutely critical to continue to do research because if you can prevent cancer, you not only save lives, you also prevent the pain, agony and cost of treating the disease," says Janet Hooper, director of hospital development. "Because cancer keeps coming back. That's the sad part."

What would Kevin think about all the activity?

Horne muses: "Sometimes we think Kevin looks down from heaven and says, 'You're doing the right thing,' then just smiles."

THE FIRST STEP

Light the Night is a casual evening walk; there are no fitness requirements, and children, adults and seniors are all welcome.

In addition to FishHawk Ranch's Oct. 14 walk, area walks this year take place Oct. 7 at Curtis Hixon Park in Tampa; Oct. 21 at Ken Thompson Park in Sarasota; and Oct. 27 at Carillon Office Park in Pinellas.

While individual walkers are welcome and people can register at the time of the event, early registration is encouraged by calling (813) 963-6461 or visiting www.lightthenight.org.

Team captains can click on the "team captains" link to print out sample letters, recruitment messages and sponsorship requests. Incentives range from T-shirts for those raising $100 and above to a custom desktop computer from Comp USA for the top fund-raiser in the nation.

All pre-registered walkers and team captains can drop off money, pick up incentives and register for door prizes and giveaways between 7:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. from Sept. 25 to 29 at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 3507 E. Frontage Road, Suite 300, Tampa.

Brandon walkers only can do the same from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Osprey Grille at Park Square at FishHawk Ranch. If you identify yourself as a Light the Night participant, 25 percent of your purchases will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Pinellas County walkers only can drop off money and pick up incentives from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 at the Courtside Grill at Carillon Office Park. All the day's wings sales will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Sarasota walkers can do the same from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3 at Michael's on East Wine Cellar. There is a 10 percent discount coupon for those who drop off monies there.