Page for the Cure was originally planned to be a one year event. We, MOMS Club of Maple Grove/Fish Lake MN, were looking to do some kind of community service project and saw an article/contest in a national scrapbooking magazine about raising money for Breast Cancer. Having a current MOMS Club member going through Breast Cancer, we thought this would be a great way for us to honor her and raise money at the same time.
We put together an event with about 50 women scrapbooking at a local VFW and raised $5000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure – the national organization. We came in 2nd place in the contest and really had a great time doing it. At a recap meeting someone asked if we would be doing this again? We thought “why not?!” That is when Deb Sivanich and I stepped up and agreed to be co-chairs and we have been doing it together ever since.
Every year we approach all four of the Maple Grove chapters and talk with them about the event. We are always in need of volunteers and money of course. Some of the chapters give us a donation to offset expenses and others offer to help with the soliciting of food, donations and general things it takes to put together this fundraiser. By being affiliated with the International MOMS Club we are able to contact our local businesses who participate because it is a community event by community volunteers. Over the years some things have changed. Our venue has moved a total of three times and after the first year we now give all the proceeds raised to the local affiliate of the Komen for the Cure. That way the donations given by the attendees stay right here in Minnesota. SGK helps to fund mammograms, research and many needs of the community. The Minnesota affiliate has been able to fund so many cancer related causes and really takes care of this community.
Attendees who participate in “Page for the Cure,” scrapbook from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., at the Moundsview Community Center. They are provided three meals for the day with snacks and drinks/coffee throughout the day. They receive a goodie bag upon arriving with local coupons and gifts from community stores and services. There are door prizes throughout the day and over 65 silent auction items to bid on. Vendors are on hand to sell their scrapbook related items in case you forgot anything. There are also two massages therapists giving 10 minute seated chair massages for only $10.00! During the lunch time we usually have a guest speaker, panel, or some kind of Breast Cancer related message or story to tell. There are many tears in the audience when a survivor tells of her journey through this terrible disease.
A lot of our attendees have come many times over the years. The date of this event changes year after year, but we try to get the word out via email as soon as a date has been secured. Because this event runs so well now, we are able to start contacting the MOMS Club chapters in December and put together a committee by the first half of January. We have about 2 meetings with the whole committee and then the week of the event, we get as many volunteers as we can to put together the silent auction baskets, door prizes and make up the goodie bags. There are always last minutes items that need to be picked up and we look to the volunteers to help out with that too. Some of the volunteers want to be on the committee, some want to do the work at home and some want to help out the day of the event. We always need people to help with registration, picking up the food and delivering it to our site, serving and cleaning up after all of the meals. We could NOT pull this event off if it were not for the help and support of the all the MOMS Club of Maple Grove chapters. Our attendance has grown over the years. One year we had about 180 women scrapbooking and over 7 vendors selling scrapbooking related items. Attendance always depends on the date we have chosen for the event.
We have learned over the years that April is about the best month for our event. To date, we have raised over $136,000. My personal relationship with the people who work for the Minnesota affiliate of Komen for the Cure became even more personal when I myself was diagnosed with Breast Cancer…. ….I am a former chapter President and have been on the committee/chair for all 11 years. After 8 years of doing this event, I myself was diagnosed with Breast Cancer ~ within 1 week of finishing our 8th year. By the time our 9th year event came around I had had all my surgeries, chemo, physical therapy and radiation completed and I was the speaker that year. Doing the event was my inspiration for getting it done as quickly as I could ~ a tip I personally had learned from a previous speaker years before. As you can see, this event has become a wonderful community event for the retail stores and restaurants, the people who attend year after year, the people who volunteer and help to make this event a success and the 4 Maple Grove Chapters of the MOMS Club. We all come together year after year for a great cause ~ to show we can make a difference right here in Minnesota. I hope this information helps to show what we have been able to accomplish with the MOMS Club of Maple Grove Chapters and how this event has touched many people here in Maple Grove.