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Pottstown, PA – March 7, 2012 – Gallery School of Pottstown in partnership with the Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center, a Fox Chase Cancer Center Partner has been selected as a candidate for the 2012 LIVESTRONG® Community Impact Project, which was created to bring proven cancer support programs to communities across the United States. Finalists will be determined through an online voting campaign that begins on Wed., Mar. 7 at 10am CST. Applicants with the top votes per region will receive a financial award of support to replicate and implement a sustainable program dedicated to supporting families fighting cancer. Finalists will also receive tools and resources from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the organization established in 1997 by the cancer survivor and champion cyclist to serve people living with cancer and empower communities to take action against the world’s leading cause of death. The foundation is now known publicly by its powerful brand – LIVESTRONG – and is a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people around the world living with cancer today.
Hundreds of qualified hospitals, cancer centers, universities and non-profits from across theUnited Statesapplied to be part of four different programs:
* The Creative Center – Hospital Artist-in-Residence Program: Since its inception in 1994, The Creative Center has been dedicated to bringing the arts to people with cancer and chronic illness through all stages of life as a way to help them discover their own creative resources while meeting the challenges of diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. The Artist-in-Residence program helps cancer survivors deal with the stresses of treatment through artistic expression. The program will work bedside and in small group settings with men, women and children – in oncology units, bone marrow transplant units, intensive care/respiratory units, hospice and palliative care programs.
* LIVESTRONG at the YMCA: LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a research-based program that offers people affected by cancer a safe, supportive environment to participate in physical and social activities focused on strengthening the whole person. Participants work with Y staff trained in supportive cancer care to achieve their goals such as building muscle mass and strength; increasing flexibility and endurance; and improving confidence and self-esteem.
* Advanced Certification for Palliative Care: The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification for Palliative Care is designed to set standards and acknowledge hospitals providing state-of-the-art palliative care services that relieve symptoms and stress of serious illness and improve quality of life for patients. The Center to Advance Palliative Care will provide tools and training to 20 hospitals and cancer centers across the country to assist in their efforts to qualify for the Certification.
* Pillars4Life: Pillars4Life is a patient/caregiver support program that has been proven to enhance quality of life for cancer patients and allows hospitals and their social workers to more efficiently triage and attend to the psychosocial needs of a much greater number of patients.
Gallery School of Pottstown in partnership with the Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center, a Fox Chase Cancer Center Partner is among hundreds of organizations still in contention for the award. If selected, they will use the awarded funds to expand on the Healing Arts program that is currently offered to cancer patients at the hospital. The Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center serves the tri-county area with award winning traditional (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy) and complimentary/integrative care (Reiki, harp, massage) treatments. The Healing Arts program’s focus is on using different art modalities, group discussions, and workshops that utilize mental, physical, and creative exercises to explore the person the patients want to be or used to be in the context of cancer diagnosis and recovery. If awarded the funds we will be able to expand on patient perceptions of well-being and lift their spirits, whereby making treatment outcomes more successful.
“We are thrilled and honored to be selected as a candidate for the Community Impact Project,” said Erika Hornburg-Cooper, Executive Director of the Gallery School of Pottstown. “We share LIVESTRONG’s passion for inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer and look forward to working together to make a difference in the lives of cancer survivors and their families.”
The 2012 Community Impact Project will offer nearly $1.4 million in implementation awards to 90 finalists. This represents the largest number of financial awards LIVESTRONG has granted in a single year in the history of the foundation. LIVESTRONG is committed to supporting community organizations in their efforts to help cancer survivors face the challenges and changes that come with cancer and has invested more than $70 million in community-centered organizations.
Voting ends on March 23, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. CST. For more information about the 2012 LIVESTRONG Community Impact Project and to vote, visit http://vote.livestrong.org/. For more information about The Gallery School of Pottstown visit http://www.galleryonhigh.com or about the Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center visit http://www.pottstownmemorial.com.
About the Gallery School of Pottstown is a non-profit community art center. Our mission is to provide a solid educational foundation to youth and adults alike, regardless of income level. We help students foster their creativity and develop their talents both for personal enrichment and as a foundation for advanced studies in the arts.
The mission of the Gallery School of Pottstown is to enrich the lives of the residents in the greaterPottstownarea through the visual arts, regardless of ethnicity and economic situations. Our goal is to spark creativity, build self-confidence and develop community bonds through education, mentoring and community service.
About LIVESTRONG/Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG serves people affected by cancer and empowers them to take action against the world’s leading cause of death. Created as the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the organization is now known publicly by its powerful brand — LIVESTRONG – and is a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. Known for its iconic yellow wristband, LIVESTRONG has become a symbol of hope and inspiration to people affected by cancer around the world. Since its inception, the organization has raised $450 million for the fight against cancer. For more information, visit LIVESTRONG.org.
Since 2001 LIVESTRONGhas funded the development of more than 200 programs across the United States providing direct support to hundreds of thousands of people affected by cancer. Beginning in 2010 our Community Program evolved into a mechanism to replicate many of these programs in new communities. The Lance Armstrong Foundation focuses on survivorship as an actual aspect of the cancer treatment. The foundation has invested more than $104 million in education and programs, $65 million in grants and awards and $33 million in advocacy and engagement. 81 percent of the money we raise is devoted to serving people and families with cancer.
If you are a cancer patient/caregiver; newly diagnosed, in treatment, or living as a survivor and need any assistance, please contact local LiveSTRONG Leader Ashley Spurlock, SpurlockA@comcast.net, 610-513-4076.
