Barksdale Donations Stay Local

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Dear Editor,

The Barksdale Cancer Foundation would like to thank your newspaper for your support of our recent poker run. Because we are a grassroots organization, we are dependent on our local citizens and businesses for financial support, without which we could not do the work we do for local cancer patients.

We would like to share with you and your readers some new projects which the foundation has in the works. We have partnered with a local task force which enables us to obtain cases of Ensure for our patients at a greatly reduced price, making their cost approximately 16c a can as opposed to $1.65 per can they would pay a retailer.

Another service we are working on is a “wig room” for those who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments. We have on our board a professional beautician who will use her expertise to ensure that patients have a pleasant and rewarding experience when they are fitted with a wig of their choosing and have it styled to their liking in a private setting.

We also have the honor of having been chosen as a partner by Grace Community Church, which is making “bags of blessing” as a mission project. The bags are purchased by the ladies of the church and filled with items which will come in handy for cancer patients who must spend hours on the road traveling for treatments or sitting in doctors’ offices awaiting appointments. The bags are given not only to patients, but in some cases are also given to their caregivers. In addition, the Barksdale Cancer Foundation awards a $1,000 scholarship annually to a graduating senior from the county who is planning a career in the medical field, particularly in the area of oncology.

Additionally, the foundation helps local patients by assisting with individual fundraisers. Because the board is so diverse, and knowing so many of the patients personally, members often throw their manpower and resources behind these local events.

There are numerous other services that we would like to offer our patients, but at this time do not have the financial means to provide them. We ask that your readers consider this organization the next time they would like to help in the fight against this dreaded disease. Every penny received goes to a cancer patient in Charlotte County .. .it could be a co-worker, a neighbor, a relative, someone with whom you attend church … you just never know, but you know your money is helping someone right here at home.

No one on the Barksdale Cancer Foundation is paid, and not a cent leaves Charlotte County. Still, to put it in perspective, a $5,000 fundraiser only covers 7.7 grants, so we depend greatly on donations from our citizens. To date we have awarded 166 grants in the amount of $97,750. Anyone wishing to make a donation to the foundation can mail it to P.O. Box 1, Phenix, Va. 23959. All donations are tax-deductible.

Thank you for your continued support and for helping make life a little better for local cancer patients, and God bless your giving.

Sincerely,
Wendy S. Lankford, President,
Barksdale Cancer Foundation

Farmville Jaycees Thanks the Community

The 2014 First Fridays season has officially come to a close. The Farmville Jaycees would like to thank the sponsors, bands, vendors, Town of Farmville, and all those that attended the First Fridays events. We hope that you had fun and enjoyed one of the highlights of our great community.

Your support of the First Fridays series will allow the Farmville Jaycees the opportunity to support local non-profit agencies, as well as support efforts that are having a positive impact on our community.

Once again thank you. A special thanks needs to be given to our Farmville Jaycees members. The commitment of our members makes this event possible and we are grateful to you. Till next season!

Thanks,

Mark Farley & Cameron Patterson
Co-Chairs, First Fridays Committee
Farmville Jaycees 

Warner’s Comment on Women’s Healthcare “Disingenuous”

On July 10, Senator Chuck Schumer made this statement: “We wouldn’t tell the owners of Hobby Lobby to convert to a different religion or disobey their religion – but we don’t say that they have to open up a company and go sell toys or hobby kits.”  In other words, he believes people lose their religious liberty when they start a business.  I contacted both of our senators from Virginia and asked if they concur with this statement.  Senator Kaine responded with a few platitudes about religious liberty, but he never answered my question.  Senator Warner essentially stated that he does agree with Senator Schumer.  His exact words to me were, “Individuals clearly deserve to have constitutional protection for their religious beliefs, but for-profit, corporate employers should have no role in a woman’s decisions about her own healthcare.”  I must also point out that both of these men recently voted to revise the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

In the first place, Senator Warner’s argument is disingenuous.  If corporate employers “should have no role in a woman’s decisions about her own healthcare” then why should they be forced to pay for it?  In the second place, are there any other constitutional rights that do not apply to for-profit businesses?  Do businesses not have freedom of speech?  Freedom of assembly?  Freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances?  Many newspapers and magazines are for-profit corporations.  Does that mean they do not have freedom of the press?  I asked these questions to both senators, and they have yet to reply.

I daresay that religious liberty is very precious to many of us in the Commonwealth, and we have a right to know whether our two U.S. Senators will work to preserve this basic right.  Their actions thus far make me wonder if they value the President’s agenda more than they value the First Amendment.  The people of Virginia deserve better.

Rev. Kenneth A. Jones,
Pastor, Worsham Baptist Church,
Farmville