Rotary Asked to “Give Heart, Give Hope, Give a Cure”

The holiday season has drawn to an end but the spirit of giving continues on in the heart of at least one local resident.  Twenty-four year old Samantha Sallade of Coudersport, recently solicited the support of the Coudersport Rotary Club in her efforts to draw awareness of the cancer research and medical services for children conducted by the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

According to Rotary President, Karen Cahilly, “Samantha has no invested interest in St. Judes other than the fact that she is a concerned citizen who has decided to take a proactive stance toward raising money in support of medical treatment for children with cancer.”  The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.  No child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.

Samatha explained that she chose to direct her humanitarian efforts toward helping the child patients of St. Judes because of her strong belief that it is better to “do something to contribute rather than to complain or mope about life.”  This philosophy drove her to coordinate a courtyard-style music festival featuring five live bands, food vendors and event t-shirts.

The slogan for the event is “Give Heart, Give Hope, Give a Cure” and Samatha is presently seeking volunteers to help with the event which is tentatively scheduled for August 27, 2011.  Volunteers would include solicitors for donations, vendors, suppliers of promotional materials, sponsor form distribution, public relations, onsite security, money collection, booth administration and game coordination.

Anyone interested in participating in the event can call Samatha directly at 814-203-3654.