Welcome to the Arkansas Ovarian Cancer Coalition!

 A little about Carrie Bumgardner.  Carrie is an attorney at Hyden, Miron & Foster, PLLC - a law firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway and Hot Springs Village specializing in business, tax, and estate planning. She enjoys reading and traveling, but really LOVES spending time with her family…. eight neices and nephews fill her with a lot of love and joy. She lives in Benton, with her “pet child.” Her favorite food is Mexican, she “could eat it any day of the week, authentic or tex-mex, I have no preference.” Below is an introductory letter for our supporters to see Carrie & the Boards vision for 2012.

First, I want to thank you for entrusting me with the future of this  great organization.  More importantly, I want to thank you for being a supporter and friend of the Arkansas Ovarian Cancer Coalition.  Without you, we would not be where we are today.  I encourage you to get involved in 2012.  There are many opportunities for volunteers – from active leaders to someone who only has time to help out an hour a month. 

 When the Board of Directors met to discuss the future of AROVCC, we implemented a growth plan.  We have several great ideas and opportunities for educating Arkansans about ovarian cancer, but along with increased activity comes increased financial burden.  Therefore, we started thinking of “out of the box” ideas for raising money and increasing awareness.  We also made some hard decisions regarding past events.  I hope what you will find is a new and improved organization that is striving to change the face of ovarian cancer.  

Regarding our past events, in 2012 we will say goodbye to the Survivor’s Luncheon.  We are eternally grateful to Governor Beebe and First Lady Ginger for opening their home to us and sharing their experience with ovarian cancer.  However, it is time to increase survivor connections and create a community of survivors who are helping each other cope, recuperate and thrive.  Our first Survivor event will be a picnic during and/or after Hope Hike.  We need volunteers to help organize and carry out this event. 

 We will still host an awareness rally, just not at the capital.  Instead we will “Rally at the River.”  We propose to have a massive teal balloon release in downtown Little Rock followed by a gathering for survivors and supporters.  We need volunteers to help organize and carry out this event.  

We will continue to host Artists for Ovaries, but we will implement new guidelines for submitting artwork.  We will look at different avenues for increasing attendance and revenue at the auction.  We need volunteers to help organize and carry out this event.  

We also have several other opportunities for volunteering in 2012: 

 ·         Survivor Kits:  We want everyone who is diagnosed with ovarian cancer to have access to the resources they need.  We are partnering with St. Vincent’s New Outlook to create and distribute Survivor Kits.  We need a few volunteers to take an hour or two at least every quarter to put these kits together. 

·         Turn Arkansas Teal:  I have a dream of seeing teal everywhere I turn during the month of September.  The first step in achieving this dream is placing teal “piggy banks” in local stores and restaurants during the month of September for people to donate their spare change.  I encourage you to begin planning now for the number of banks you want and asking for permission for leaving them.  You will be responsible for gathering the money too.  Not only do we need people in September to pass out the piggy banks and gather the money, we need at least two people working on this project now to ensure that this event runs smoothly.

 ·         Riverfest:  This one of the state’s largest community events and the perfect opportunity for us to reach thousands of women!  We need two people to begin looking into different avenues of being involved in this event. 

·         Health Fairs:  As in the past, we need volunteers to pass out literature and answer a few basic questions at different health fairs throughout the year.  You can sit for an hour or a whole day.  The choice is yours.  We are currently scheduling volunteers for Tuesday, March 13 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Little Rock.

 ·         Bookmarks:  These mini-brochures have a great potential of reaching thousands of people.  We already have someone in charge of placing bookmarks in the Central Arkansas Library System and Saline County libraries, but we need volunteers for other libraries.  If you live in a different area, we would love for you to deliver some bookmarks to your local public library. 

·         Educational Brochures:  I want to encourage you to commit to supplying your doctor (whether a general practitioner, a GYN, or your dentist) with our Educational Brochures.  We will supply you with the brochures and display rack, you just need to go by the office once a month and replace the brochures.

 I am positive I left something off the list, but as you can see we have a very full year planned!  If you would like to participate in any of the events, please e-mail me at cebumgardner@yahoo.com.  The truth of the matter is we need you to reach thousands of Arkansans in 2012.  I look forward to working with each of you.

Teal There’s A Cure,

Carrie

 P.S.  A big thank you to Amy Lasseigne, our first Past Executive Director/Chairman.  Amy’s vision and desire to change the face of ovarian cancer has truly inspired me and gave me hope during my battle with ovarian cancer.  I have some pretty big shoes to fill!