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i.W.A.N.T. Foundation, Inc. Events
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| View Pictures from the Beyond the Pink Mother's Day Hat Luncheon- Dallas |
| View pictures below from the 2nd Annual H.A.T.S. Luncheon- Houston |
The Bald, The Bold, The Beautiful, described the 2nd Annual H.A.T.S. Breast Cancer Luncheon, sponsored by the I.W.A.N.T. Foundation, Inc. More than 160 women and men sat attentively with their headdresses listening to emcee, Marcus D. Wiley of the Yolanda Adams Morning Show and stories of survival not only from women, but from men as well.
The room was inspired by hot pink, black and white decorations that resulted in an intimate setting for the luncheon.
H.A.T.S. stands for healthy attitudes toward surviving. That’s exactly what guest speakers did; shared their stories on living, thriving and surviving after continuously battling this disease dreadful!
Not only were guests entertained by storytelling, guests sat front seat to a fashion show put on by Hat-ti-2ude. Hat models walked the runaway showing off the latest fashions in the hat industry.
Guests also had the privilege to witness a one-act play, by Actress Cynthia Garcia and a mime act by Ashlea Guillory. Both performances left the audience in tears with their powerful and uplifting messages.
One of our Guest speakers, Stephanie Lee, a 13 years breast cancer survivor and board member for the I.W.A.N.T. Foundation, shared her journey about fighting through her battle. Stephanie talked about her faith in God as he is the ultimate healer. Her motivating and encouraging speech gave hope to those battling the disease and those impacted by the disease.
The second guest speaker put a different perspective of things. Al Parker II, loving husband and father to Andrea Parker, one of the co-founders of the foundation, spoke about not taking life for granted and focusing on things that don’t really mater.
Vendors adorned the outskirts of the room selling products that ranged from jewelry and accessories to travel and insurance and donated a percentage of their proceeds to the foundation.
Houston Foundation Members: Elaine O. Archie, Vanessa Archie, Johnetta "Kittie" Alfred, Vickie Long, Andrea & Al Parker, and Kim O'Neal did yet another GREAT job on the planning, logistics, decorations and etc. for the event!
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| Thanks to our 2009 Journey Walk to Survival Sponsors!
Banks of Dallas
Buffalo Wild Wings
Cheesecake Factory
Curves
Dick's Sporting Goods
FILMja
Kroger
National Football League Retired Players Association
Stephanie Lee State Farm Insurance Agency
Time Warner Cable
Tom Castleberry State Farm Insurance Agency
Twisters Spirit Athletics Cheer Cub
Tom Thumb
Walmart
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| Tears, Laughter, Joy and Happiness Describes 1st Annual H.A.T.S. Luncheon |
More than 200 people dressed in hats of all colors, sizes and shapes packed a banquet room at Brady's Landing Restaurant overlooking the Port of Houston for the I WANT Foundation's 1st Annual H.A.T.S. Luncheon in Houston, TX. Ladies and men adorned with their hat of choice came out to listen to the stories of breast cancer survivors, Andrea Parker and Nikki Thomas. The luncheon kicked-off with a heartfelt and powerful welcome from O. Elaine Archie, one of Andrea and Nikki's loving aunts.
Tears filled the room quickly as the father of Andrea and Nikki, Ike Thomas, blessed the food trying his best to hold back his tears of joy, happiness and thankfulness. Christian comedian, Marcus D. Wiley from the Yolanda Adams Morning Show, did an exceptional job of turning those tears into laughter as the emcee for the luncheon.
While Andrea and Nikki both shared their stories of their breast cancer journeys you could hear nothing but kleenex being pulled from its packaging and tears flowing from everyone's eyes. Their stories of strength and courage had everyone on the edge of their seat as both ladies spoke about perserverance, hope, and their faith in God for giving them the strength to turn their negatives into something positive by reaching out and helping others.
Thanks to Ms. Erica Jenkins, luncheon guests had the opportunity see a fashion show where the models wore beautiful hats that were available for sale at the luncheon. The hat models paraded on stage showing off the latest in summer hats.
KUDOS to Jonetta "Kittie" Alfred, Vanessa Archie, Elaine Archie, Vickie Long, Kim O'Neal, Andrea Parker and Sandra Square for putting on a fabulous luncheon and fundraiser. Decorators, Kittie Alfred and Vickie Long, added their speacial touch by creating beautiful table centerpieces made of books, hats, bras and much more!
A big thank you goes out to guest speakers, Nadia Nekooi and Darilyn Jones for educating the audience about breast cancer and motivating the family to keep doing what they are doing to help others.
Thank you to all who came out.
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1st Annual Health Fair a Huge Success!
The I WANT Foundation's 1st Annual Community Health Fair was a huge success thanks to our vendors and sponsors. More than 500 people walked through the doors of Cedar Hill High School's cafeteria on Saturday, March 7, 2009 to receive free health screenings such as blood pressure, EKG's HIV/STD, spinal, glucose and much more.
More than 35 women had the opportunity to get mammograms provided by UT Southwestern's Mobile Mammography unit. Parkland- Women's Health demonstrated in detail how to do self breast exams. Parker College of Chiropractic provided spinal and neck screenings which participants thoroughly enjoyed! Dallas County Health and Human Services along with the Dallas Area Urban League tested approximately 50 participants for HIV/STD.
Participants also had the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to help raise money for the foundation. Thanks to our wonderful participants, friends and family members, the foundation raised more than $1000 in raffle ticket sales at the health fair.
Kids enjoyed themselves as well. Games and other activities kept them busy while their parents and/or relatives enjoyed the free services.
A big thanks goes out to Cedar Hill ISD, Dr. Chanda McGhee and Cedar Hill High School students for working tirelessly to help make the event a success!
A special thanks to all the volunteers who who spent either a few hours or most of their Saturday assisting with crowd control, refreshments, registration, vendors and health screenings.
Thanks to everyone for helping us make a difference!
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Health Fair Vendors:
American Cancer Society
American General Life & Accident Insurance
Baylor Family Medicine of Cedar Hill
Behavioral Associates of Dallas
Bridge Breast Network
Comprehensive Cardiac and Vascular Interventional Group
Dallas Area Urban League
Dallas County
Family Empowerment & Life Management Services
Generation Women's Health
House of Avaril Candle Company
Mountain View College
Parker College of Chiropractic
Parkland- Women's Health
Susan G. Komen Foundation
UT Southwestern Mobile Mammography
| Health Fair Sponsors:
Applebee's
Apple Bottom Jeans
Cedar Hill ISD
Chicken Express
Chick-fil-A
Dallas Cowboys
Domino's Pizza
Enigma, LLC
Home Depot
House of Avaril Candle Company
Masterpiece Printing Company
Minyard's Food Stores
Oak Farms
Otis Spunkmeyer Cookies
Panera Bread
Schepps Dairy
Sheridan's Yogurt
Walmart
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