Gerber Memorial, community to raise funds for Cancer Center
FREMONT- Get someone wet for a good cause during the National Baby Food Festival Wednesday, July 18, through Saturday, July 21. Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial is partnering with local businesses and organizations to raise funds during the popular Fremont festival, by inviting the public to try their arm and their aim at the dunk tank located in front of the Fifth-Third Bank on Main Street downtown. For $1 a ball, three for $2 or any additional contributions, donors get to send a willing local volunteer into a tank full of water as part of Gerber Memorial’s centennial celebration. “As organizers of the National Baby Food Festival, the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce and our community partners are thrilled that we can also make this event about giving back to our neighbors,” said Sydney Baird of the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce and Co-Coordinator of the NBFF. “The Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial Cancer Center has been such an important contributor to care in our community. We’re excited that we can offer a family-friendly fun way to raise funds that will stay in our community and support cancer patients, and which also coincides with Gerber Memorial’s Centennial.” The dunk tank is open Wednesday, 4 p.m.–6 p.m.; Thursday, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.; and Saturday, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. The idea for the dunk tank came up when several Newaygo County businesses and organizations were informed that the American Cancer Society informed them that the annual Relay for Life would no longer be held in Newaygo County. The businesses and groups, working with Gerber Memorial, sought a way to honor cancer patients and raise funds that would go back to the community. Hearing of the plight, the Fremont Chamber of Commerce proposed the idea of the dunk tank to Gerber Memorial and the local businesses, which include Gerber Federal Credit Union and Nestle Gerber. “Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial is honored to that our community is so supportive of our efforts to provide care and comfort to our cancer patients,” said Karen Crowley at the Gerber Memorial Cancer Center and a longtime organizer and supporter of events for local cancer patients. “Our employees are really excited to be a part of this fundraiser because they’re members of this community and they’re 100 percent committed to caring for our neighbors. As part of Gerber Memorial’s 100 years of connecting with and caring for our community, we see this dunk tank fundraiser as another way for us to give back to a community that is so much a part of our DNA. This dunk tank fundraiser is a true community collaboration and we invite everyone who’ll be visiting the National Baby Food Festival to try their hand at dunking one of our volunteers for a great cause.” The Spectrum Health Cancer Center at Gerber Memorial saw 2,912 patients this past year, an increase of 150 patients compared to a year ago, with many of them from the Newaygo County area. For questions about the NBFF or the Gerber Memorial dunk tank fundraiser, contact the Fremont Chamber of Commerce at 231.924-0770.
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