GOOD NEWS: Chase After a Cure donates $100,000 to MUSC

Staff reports  |  Chase After a Cure presented a check for $100,000 to pediatric oncologist Dr. Jacqueline Kraveka and her team at the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital on Sept. 26. Each September during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the local organization presents MUSC with a check for money raised over the course of the last year to support pediatric cancer research. Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg also attended, proclaiming September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Charleston.

Pictured above from left, are Debbie Rupert, Chase After a Cure board member; Adam White, Chase After a Cure executive director; Whitney Ringler, Chase After a Cure founder; Dr. David Cole, MUSC president; Kathy Cole, Chase After a Cure board member; Matthew Pecoy, Chase After a Cure board member, pediatric oncologist Dr. Jacqueline Kraveka; Chris Hoyle, Chase After a Cure medical research advisory committee; Margaret Marcoe, Chase After a Cure director of marketing; and Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg.

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is a nationwide effort to bring attention to more than 15,000 children and teenagers diagnosed with cancer each year. Cancer is the number one cause of disease-related death among children. Locally, about 70 children are diagnosed with cancer each year at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Since its founding in 2009, Chase After a Cure has donated more than a half million dollars to MUSC for research and equipment, specifically in the area of the very aggressive neuroblastoma.

Chase After a Cure was started in 2009 by Ringler, a Summerville resident, and her family after her son, Chase, was given a 30 percent chance of survival after being diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nerve tissue of the sympathetic nervous system. Chase survived the aggressive form of cancer and now his family works tirelessly on behalf of childhood cancer research.  Photo provided.

In other good news:

Firefighter calendar unveiled.  Charleston Animal Society’s 2017 Firefighter Calendar featuring 14 area firefighters was unveiled at a Saturday debut party that offered the first chance to buy the annual fund-raising calendar.  Proceeds go to the society’s medical fund, which treats injured, abused and abandoned animals.  Purchase one here:  CharlestonFirefighterCalendar.com

That’s a lot of shrimp.  Hats off to Shem Creek Bar and Grill, which is celebrating 32 years of service seafood in Mount Pleasant.  During October, which is National Seafood Month, the restaurant will donate $ 1 to Pet Helpers for every dessert sold.

Top minor league town.  Hats off to Charleston for being the fourth best minor league baseball town in the nation, according to financial technology company Smart Asset’s third annual ranking.  It noted, “The Charleston RiverDogs made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. They also broke their attendance record. Reportedly, 293,161 fans attended games this past season. And, Charleston is a safe place to live with some of the lowest property crime and violent crime rates in our analysis.”

Take control of your digital life.  If you want to figure out how to manage technology instead of it managing you, you may want to consider attending consultant Tina Arnoldi’s free lunch program on Oct. 15 at the Mount Pleasant library.  Dessert and coffee will be provided.  Learn more and register here:  tinaarnoldi.eventbrite.com

National award.  U.S. Sen. Tim Scott picked Carolina Youth Development Center as a recipient of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award for the organization’s dedication to child welfare practices.  In a press release, he said, ““When I look at our youth, I see the future of tomorrow. I see their unlimited potential and their thirst to accomplish extraordinary things.  I also know that success is not guaranteed. I know firsthand the importance of guidance, mentorship, the simple luxury of having someone around who tells you, ‘I believe in you.’”