Page 194 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2019

THEFINALSAY COURTNEY
ANDERSON
photo by Brian Pearse
Community Development Manager, American
Cancer Society, Inc. – South Region
Real Men Wear Pink of the Mississippi Gulf Coast has officially taken off and I am just in awe and so very humbled that God chose me to take on the responsibility of working for cancer victims whose lives are at stake. I will never get over the insurmountable gratitude towards the American Cancer Society for giving me this opportunity.
Real Men Wear Pink was created to give men a greater presence in the fight against breast cancer here on the Coast. Working alongside our October 19th Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event, Real Men Wear Pink gives communities the opportunity to nominate local male leaders to serve as ambassadors to raise funds for the American Cancer Society’s breast cancer initiatives. Every dollar we raise this year will help save lives from breast cancer through early detection and prevention, innovative breast cancer research and patient support.
What so many people do not realize is that breast
cancer does not affect just women. Thousands of men are diagnosed with the disease in the United States every
year, and so are more than 240,000 of their daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and friends. That’s why I have contemplated so deeply over who should receive the honor to serve in the fight breast cancer as a 2019 Ambassador for Real Men Wear Pink.
As a community, we can’t operate on hope alone; it
takes unified fundraising from all of us to end this deadly disease. The money these guys raise is helping American Cancer Society fund innovative breast cancer research, 24/7 information and support, prevention and early detection initiatives, and so much more.
This year’s group of men all mean so much to me and
to the American Cancer Society. They were carefully and selectively thought over before being approached with the honor of serving as an ambassador for Real Men Wear Pink Gulf Coast. This is a distinguished and dedicated group
of community leaders who are not only determined but excited to raise awareness and funds to support American
Cancer Society’s fight to end breast cancer.
These men are giving their time, passion, and energy to fundraising events that contribute to ending cancer
once and for all. Each Real Men Wear Pink Ambassador accepts a fundraising challenge and competes to be the top fundraiser among his peers by the end of October. I am just mind blown by the dedication of our Real Men Wear Pink supporters, and I am certain by the end of October we all are going to make such a huge impact on breast cancer.
These men are very well known in the community, but that is not why I asked them to participate. Primarily,
I asked them because their actions define love. That’s what we are all after, right? They are committed to their families, children, health, and community, and that is why they are in the position to serve as leaders. Not one of these men hesitate – they were truly eager and excited to be trusted servants for God and the well being of our community.
We recently lost one of our own, Kipp Greggory. He was kind, humble, and devoted to helping others regardless of what was going on in his own life. He was the very first person to reach out to me to reserve his spot as a returning ambassador, even though he had an upcoming surgery to think about. There wasn’t one hesitating moment that he thought it might be best to step down for a year. That was the kind of person I knew. We all have a powerful angel looking over us.
194 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • October 2019
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Courtney Anderson with a few of the 2019 Real Men Wear Pink Ambassadors.