We Have a Grand Sponsor, and It’s a Special Story…
Medina Eagles 2224 will be sponsoring the 2024 iteration of Race with Grace.
Dear Friend of Race with Grace,
We have a grand sponsor, and it’s a special story…
In April 2020, Medina County resident Tara Myers was scheduled to have a mammogram.
COVID had just taken the world by storm.
A week before her appointment, Tara’s mammogram was put on hold and re-scheduled for June 2020.
“No worries,” she thought. After all, everything had checked out okay to this point in her life.
She attended her re-scheduled appointment in June and, 1 week later, she received a letter from the hospital stating they had found an abnormality.
After another mammogram, an ultrasound, and a biopsy (all procedures her husband could not attend due to COVID protocols), Tara Myers was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma – namely, breast cancer.
The cancer had spread just outside the duct. They had caught it early, and she was assigned to a radiation oncologist at Cleveland Clinic in Strongsville.
After additional testing, blood work, etc., she had surgery on August 5th, 2020, followed by 1 month of radiation.
Her cancer care team at the Cleveland Clinic became her second family. But the hospital bills came pouring in…
She and her husband (who were once financially stable under normal conditions) were now swimming in medical debt.
Then, someone from the radiation department in Strongsville handed Tara a pamphlet with resources to help families battling cancer.
Race with Grace was the first resource on the list.
Tara wasn’t keen on asking for help, but she was putting a lot of miles on her car during her daily trip to-and-from the Clinic for radiation treatment.
She applied for a Race with Grace grant to help with one month’s car payment (so she could focus on paying her medical bills) and, to her surprise, Race with Grace covered not one, but two months’ car payments.
Tara was touched by the quick financial help she received. And she vowed to remember those who helped her during her battle with cancer.
She would never forget.
Fast forward to today, and Tara is cancer-free.
Here’s where the story gets even better…
You might be interested to know what Tara has been doing the past 4 years after successful cancer treatment.
In 2021, shortly after Tara’s treatment, Tara was introduced to the local Fraternal Order of Eagles – Medina Eagles 2224.
She wanted to give back to the community, and the Eagles were all about people helping people.
Tara became immensely involved in the organization and, amongst other things, started a Race with Grace team.
Her enthusiasm was contagious.
People within her organization were incredibly supportive of the cause – so much so, in fact, that they came to her and said, “Tara, how about we take it 1 step further? Why don’t we sponsor the entire event?”
Tara’s story had come full circle.
The very same person who had been on the receiving side of Race with Grace financial support had now helped bring a Grand Sponsor to the table, raising thousands of dollars to help other families battling cancer.
Thank you, Medina Eagles 2224, for your Grand Sponsorship of Race with Grace this year.
And Tara, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for giving back to other families battling cancer.
From all of us at Race with Grace, we will never forget.
Interested in joining our amazing list of sponsors this year?
We'd be honored to have you. Sponsorship opportunities close on Monday, August 26, 2024. So be sure to sponsor today right here.