It’s tradition for cancer patients finishing their final round of chemotherapy treatment to ring a brass bell before they leave the hospital.
Kelly Folliott, a member of the Friendly Valley Senior Living Community – and a member of the Friendly Valley chapter of the cancer research and treatment organization City of Hope, now 50 years old this year – forgot to ring her bell when she completed her chemotherapy three years ago.
Until Friendly Valley Chapter 1152 hosted its 50th anniversary event Saturday, it was a loose thread for Folliott.
“For the last three years that has been in my brain,” Folliott said from the stage in the Friendly Valley Country Club. “But this morning, as I was quickly writing down my speech – which is under two minutes, thank you – it occurred to me, I’m in a room full of cancer survivors, caregivers, doctors, (and) volunteers. This is where I should ring my survivor bell, not just for me, but for all the survivors past and present.”
The ring of a bell Folliott had brought to the stage sent up an enormous round of applause.
It was an event where several applause breaks were inevitable. Dozens of Chapter 1152 members and chapter supporters filled tables inside the Friendly Valley Country Club auditorium in spring-appropriate garden tea attire to celebrate the chapter’s “golden anniversary” with a raffle, gift bags, and short speeches from city leaders and longtime members of the organization.
More than once, speakers acknowledged that their fundraising efforts for the City of Hope organization are often motivated by a personal cause. Most everyone knows at least someone who’s battled cancer – if not, like Folliott, battled it themselves – and the loved ones around them looking for guidance about what to do in the face of it.
When Santa Clarita’s Mayor Pro Tem Patsy Ayala and Councilwoman Marsha McLean addressed the audience on stage Saturday, Ayala specifically thanked the chapter, as “the soul of the community,” for guiding the friends and neighbors of those diagnosed with cancer.
“This is possible because you have been there hand by hand and generation by generation, and then (onto) another new board member, another new volunteer,” Ayala said. “You have been there, wow, 50 years, and I commend you for that.”
When it comes to Chapter 1152’s strategy for drumming up support for City of Hope throughout the year, the organization is social, but busy, said current board President Rosemary Culleeney-Duff, who emceed Saturday’s event. They typically host two major bingo fundraising events per year, along with contributing donations they receive while participating in a yearly swap meet and arts and crafts fair.
They also had a roaring Halloween party last year, Culleeney-Duff said. With a membership list about 105 names long, they’re hoping to have an equally successful one this year.
Last year, in total, the chapter raised about $26,000 for the City of Hope, she said – and while it’s hard to say what the chapter has raised over the past 50, she said they’re working to pin it down.
“That’s a little hard on the counter, but we’re working on it,” Culleeney-Duff said.
