-
- Posted Wednesday May 16, 2012
Following success, families of cancer patients launch second year of Plant Purple-Grow Hope
Ohio-based effort supports TGen-led international pancreatic
cancer research; plans for expansion in 2013
PHOENIX, Ariz. - May 16, 2012 - "Denim shock wave petunias" are
blanketing northwest Ohio greenhouses this spring as advocates for
TGen's pancreatic cancer research roll out a second year of their
Plant Purple-Grow Hope campaign.
Throughout May and June, the Maumee Valley Growers and affiliated
Toledo, Ohio-area greenhouse retailers will sell the purple
petunias to raise funds for biomedical research at the
Phoenix-based, non-profit Translational Genomics Research Institute
(TGen).
"It was a very big success last year. There was a lot of community
support," said Kelly Kinney, who started Plant Purple-Grow Hope
last year in honor of her brother, Bret Connors, a Scottsdale,
Arizona, resident who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in
2009. "We're excited that it is continuing. It's only going to get
bigger."
Kinney, who moved to Houston, from Toledo, in October, hopes to
roll out the Plant Purple-Grow Hope fundraising drive in Texas and
elsewhere across the nation next year.
Spearheading the drive this year in northwestern Ohio is Toledo
native Deanna Bobak, who lost her father, Donald Swicegood of
Toledo, to pancreatic cancer. He died only months after his
diagnosis. Bobak said there is a need for earlier diagnosis of the
disease.
"After he passed, I always wanted to do something about pancreatic
cancer in the hopes that this would not have such a dire prognosis
in the future," said Bobak, who met Kinney last year during the
first Plant-Purple-Grow Hope drive. "I would really like to help
make a difference; to help others down the road," Bobak said.
In addition, Kinney's sister, Megan Haan of Galesburg, Michigan, is
hoping to organize a Plant Purple-Grow Hope campaign next year with
neighboring growers in southwest Michigan's Kalamazoo County.
"I'm really proud of my sister for coming up with this idea. I know
my brother, Bret, would be just so proud and delighted," said Haan,
who works with another brother, Shawn Connors, in their health and
wellness business, Hope Health, based in Kalamazoo.
Meantime, Joe Perlaky, Program Manager for the Maumee Valley
Growers (MVGA), is gearing up to sell more plants with the color
purple, the designated color for pancreatic cancer
research.
"MVGA is essentially duplicating last year's effort, and we are
considering expanding the program to larger retailers in 2013 by
offering a greater variety of packaging ideas," Perlaky said.
Plant Purple-Grow Hope will set aside 50 cents for every 4.5-inch
purple petunia pot sold by the non-profit Maumee Valley Growers and
their partners, through June 30.
Michael Bassoff, President of the TGen Foundation, praised the
continuing efforts of Kinney, her family, friends and growers. "It
is truly remarkable what this amazing family and their generous
friends have done to build and sustain such an innovative and
environmentally-friendly campaign in the fight against pancreatic
cancer," Bassoff said.
To launch a Plant Purple-Grow Hope program in your community,
please contact Erin Massey at the TGen Foundation at
602-343-8470.
Proceeds will fund TGen and its Pancreatic Cancer Research Team
(PCRT), which includes leading pancreatic cancer scientists,
physicians and researchers, armed with the most technologically
advanced tools and resources, at 46 top-flight medical research
institutions worldwide.
Pancreatic cancer annually takes the lives of more than 37,000
Americans, making it the fourth-leading cause of cancer
death.
Kinney said she believes Plant Purple-Grow Hope is a fitting way to
preserve the memory of her brother, Bret, who is survived by his
wife and three sons. For more on Bret's life, please visit:
www.tgenfoundation.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=794.
# # #
About Maumee Valley Growers
Maumee Valley Growers (MVGA) is an industry-based, not for profit
association of regional greenhouse growers in northwest Ohio
committed to working together to strengthen and sustain their local
economy. The organization includes individual Maumee Valley
growers, alike in offering top-quality local plants but distinct in
location, product mix, and focus. MVGA engages in community
activities involving nearly 70 floriculture greenhouses who employ
740 workers generating $100-$115 million in revenue for their area
annually. For more information and a complete list of participating
nurseries, visit: www.maumeevalleygrowers.com.
