Sometimes, people can get burned out by repetition. Seeing the same thing over and over can make things lose their impact, like reality shows that all blend together into one “Amazing Survivor Apprentice Race with the Stars!”
Even important things, like diseases to cure and people to help can become background noise after a while. Remember red ribbons for AIDS awareness, and how they were once a crucial part of every red carpet event, until people stopped noticing them and then they kind of slipped away? Critics are fearing the same will happen with pink products for breast cancer.
But the Moshannon Valley doesn’t seem to be becoming immune to the fever it caught for supporting cancer fighters and their families. In fact, what started with Emily Whitehead shows signs of being an epidemic.
Brandon Denochick, a young man from Morris-dale, has been battling cancer off and on for years. He has had similar prayer, support and fundraising efforts happening, some in conjunction with the Philipsburg 7-year-old who became a Facebook miracle. On Friday, the Battle for Brandon will bring people together at the Frenchville picnic grounds for a covered dish potluck and roast pig fundraiser with music, games, auctions and prizes to raise money and hopes.
Ida Reams, a longtime Osceola Mills Borough Council member, and mother of three, is under attack by Stage 4 breast cancer for the third time. With her husband off work to be by her side, niece Carmella Berndt organized a fundraising event for Sunday at the Osceola Mills fire hall. From 3-6 p.m., the hall will be filled with vendors, a bake sale, and a huge auction of more than 60 donated themed baskets to show Reams how much people care as they put their money where their hearts are.
You might think all of this would cut into the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life pie. Don’t be so sure. Organizers for the 2012 Moshannon Valley event are still not done counting the money from last weekend’s two-day celebration, and online donations were still being received.
These are just a small sample of the viral support. You can see symptoms on store windows and bulletin boards all over the Moshannon Valley. We know we aren’t the only ones who care. We know people in every community fight these same battles. But we also know that some communities, like Osceola Mills, fight them at higher per capita rates than others, making contagious, prescription strength love all the more important.
Lori Falce writes weekly about the Rush Township/Philipsburg area. Send comments to lorifalce@gmail.com.
