CLARION, Pa., (EYT) – You can take out your frustrations and support the American Cancer Society and Clarion University’s Relay for Life by taking a sledgehammer to a car on the CUP campus on Thursday, March 12.
The vehicle, donated by Sligo Auto Salvage, will be located in parking lot 12 by the tennis courts from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The event is sponsored by the CUP chapter of the National Student Speech-Language and Hearing Association or NSSLHA. Haley Link is the group’s vice president.
“Nobody should have to hear the words, ‘You’ve got cancer,’” she told exploreClarion.com.
“So, we’re raising money to try to eliminate people hearing those words.”
Link said NSSLHA’s current president is a cancer survivor, so the group decided this would be a great way to help to smash out cancer.
Everybody is welcome. Each swing of the hammer costs $1.00.
There are several sizes of sledgehammers, safety glasses, and gloves.
“I even have small sledgehammers for children,” Link noted. “We would love for the community to come and participate, as well.”
Sligo Auto Salvage is one member of the community that has already participated in the event by donating the car to be smashed. They’re also making sure all glass and fluids have been removed from the vehicle.
Link, who commutes to CUP from East Brady and passes Sligo Auto Salvage along the way, approached the business about helping with this fundraiser.
Brad Reinsel, of Sligo Auto Salvage, was happy to help.
Unbeknownst to Link when she made the request, Reinsel is a cancer survivor and only recently finished his treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Reinsel’s mother is also a cancer survivor; his wife’s uncle died from leukemia.
“This hits home for me as a survivor myself,” Reinsel said. “When you experience cancer, or you go through it personally, it opens your eyes, and there’s a different light on everything in life.”
Reinsel said he and his wife have always donated to cancer charities, but their giving has taken on a new meaning.
Reinsel received chemotherapy and radiation. The treatments were expensive; luckily, he had insurance. He now wants to support the American Cancer Society in helping those who may not have the resources he did to pay for the needed care.
Reinsel is pleased that Link reached out to Sligo Auto Salvage to help with the fundraiser.
“Local businesses are supportive of efforts such as this in their communities,” Reinsel said. “People may not see it, but that’s what a local business really is. There is a lot that’s contributed by local businesses to the community. We do our part to give back.”
Link is already anticipating taking a swing at the car to crush cancer.
“I’ll be thinking of all of my friends and family who have had to suffer through this terrible disease and the toll it takes on everyone,” she said.
Reinsel agrees – the toll cancer takes on people extends far beyond the person who has the disease. He remembered a conversation with a coworker who is a breast cancer survivor.
“She said to me the hard part is not dealing with it (cancer) yourself,” he explained. “The hardest part is seeing how it affects everyone around you and your family. That’s definitely the hardest part.”
If you can’t make it to the campus swing the sledgehammer to help crush cancer, you can still participate.
Online donations can be sent to Link’s Relay for Life fundraising page.
Checks can be made out to American Cancer Society and sent to:
Relay For Life/Colleges Against Cancer
840 Wood Street
Box 103
Clarion, PA 16214
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