Supper with Survivors

Group Members:
1. Tyler Van Dyke
2. Matthew Stinson
3. Connor Glass
Estimated Total Cost: $2,471.7
Project Description:
There are many well known foundations that support cancer research, but very few of these
corporations, though they are very helpful, actually make barely any contribution to local men and
women struggling with cancer. Therefore, my group and I would like to initiate a local event called
Supper With Survivors. We will almost certainly need more people to help if this idea is actually to
come to fruition, coming from students, community members, and faculty alike. Supper With
Survivors would be an event held at a local venue, possibly the Forum here at McDaniel College, to
support men and women who have been diagnosed with and are being treated for cancer and/or
leukemia. In essence, the dinner is a community-centered benefit event. In addition to inviting
cancer survivors, we would also invite members from the community. The cost of admissions will be
a donation of whatever amount they choose over a to-be-determined minimum (it will not be much
at all, but they are welcome to donate as much as they wish). While at the dinner, there will be more
opportunities for fundraising, such as raffles, T-shirts, and various other items. We will also invite
people from the local cancer clinic and survivors to talk about their experiences working with cancer
patients and/or dealing with cancer themselves.
The money raised from this event would be used for two purposes: to be given to the local
cancer clinic for local use and so that this event could happen again. In regards to the former
purpose, it is the hope of this project that, through the appropriate use of the funds that we raise,
the local clinic will be able to do several things. First, we hope that the clinic will be able to afford
newer and more effective treatments for cancer patients. A common occurrence among cancer
patients is that their cancer adapts to the treatments that are being used and continues to grow.
Clinics combat this by using various types of chemotherapy, radiation, etc. However, the clinics will
sometimes simply run out of options, leaving a family with nowhere to turn. We also hope that, with
the help of our funds, clinics would be able to subsidize some of the bills that families accrue
through the process of treating cancer. The average initial cost for chemotherapy is $7000, for
radiation, $8000 to $15000. These are just initial costs; there are countless more bills as you go
along. This can take an incredible toll on a family, especially if the family was already struggling. If

clinics were able to reduce their fees even just by a percentage, it would make a world of a difference
to local families. Funding would be very important for an event like this. We would need to rent a
space to hold the dinner, provide food, and provide the various items that would be sold.
This project will depend heavily on student participation. We will need students to serve,
students to bus tables, and students to man the tables where we will be selling various items. This
would be an opportunity for students to take part in something truly inspiring and heartfelt. Cancer
has recently become a pop culture staple. We have books about cancer patients; we have movies and
TV shows about it. It is perpetually being mentioned because of the emotional connotation attached
to the word cancer. Unfortunately, pop culture has never been particularly realistic. What often
happens is that cancer and cancer patients lives are romanticized: the girl with cancer falls in love
with a boy who dies from cancer who truly loved her too, a professor enters the illegal drug market
to afford his treatments and protect his family from financial ruin, etc. This is not how most people
experience and deal with cancer. Students involved in this event would see, sometimes for the first
time, how people really deal with cancer. They will hear and learn what life becomes like for
someone who has cancer and how the lives of his/her family is so drastically changed.
When: Spring Semester 2014
Budget:
Catering: $16:65 per person x 100 people = $1665
Raffle Items: Cancer Awareness paraphernalia = $175
T-Shirts: $12.08 per shirt x 45 Shirts = $543.60
Table Dcor: Lights/Vases (from PartyCity)= 88.18
TOTAL: 2,471.76
Personal Interest:
Tyler Van Dyke is personally involved in this project because he knows what a tremendous
toll cancer can take on a family and community. Cancer has taken the lives of five of his close family
members, the life of a friend, and he has several other family members currently struggling with
cancer. He realizes that associations like the American Cancer Society are doing a wonderful thing in
raising money for cancer research; he has been involved in the Relay for Life since fifth grade and
has raised accumulatively thousands of dollars since, but there is also a more immediate need:
helping the people that already have cancer. Until we do find a cure, it is essential that we support
the members of our community that struggle to make ends meet because of the insurmountable

amount of money treating cancer costs. Giving this money directly to the community will also allow
local clinics to obtain newer, more effective methods of treatment.
Connor Glass is involved with this project because his aunt was recently diagnosed with
breast cancer, which makes this project very personal to him. He used to raise money for the
American Cancer Society during high school as part of a club and always felt happy with himself for
doing a good thing and helping cancer patients. However, he found himself forgetting about what he
did for them after a while since all he did was send a check. He feels that this project will help people
like himself and other students to really feel like they made a difference and to be reminded of the
fact on a daily basis. This project is geared towards kind-hearted people who want to help out cancer
survivors but dont want to feel as if theyre throwing their money at the ACS. This allows us and for
people that donate to be able to see the influence they are making on a more personal level versus
sending a check and forgetting about it.
The reason that Matthew wants to be involved in this Griswold Zep Project is that he sees a
lot of similarities to the program Relay for Life, which he was quite involved with in high school. He
sees it as a really great opportunity to have a positive effect on a nearby community of people who
deserve recognition. The best thing about this project is that you can see exactly who you are helping
and how you are helping them, which makes it very exciting for him. In addition, Matthew thinks it
would be fun just to be at an event like this after planning it, similar to Relay. Overall, he is looking
forward to working with Tyler and Connor on a project he feels passionate about.