Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

I've loved helping others all my life. And because as a former(?) engineer, I value my time more than anything monetary, when I choose to help others or to make a difference (or both), I choose to do volunteer work. Even when I want to give gifts to friends, the most precious thing that I can give them would be my time (and conversely, I hate it when people choose the easier cheaper way, spending their money on me, instead of their time).

And now, as a born again sociologist, doing volunteer work would serve me not only personally, but also professionally. First time I did volunteering in my new career over my first days in the US, was serving at Cherry Street Mission. I was keen to know how charity works of this sort are done here and to make a comparison with what I'd experienced doing in my own country. I've written about my observations and reflections here.

And when I saw an ad in the University Hall for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, I didn't hesitate to volunteer. For more info on what's it all about and the locations across the US, have a look at this page at the American Cancer Society. Here, it was not merely about loving volunteer work in general or making some observations as a sociologist in specific. This touched a nerve on a personal level: my mother is a breast cancer survivor. And she's had a tough experience: 3 major operations (the last one being a lumpectomy) and 2 rounds of hormone-therapy for a total period of 10 years in a row.

To be honest, I felt (and I still do feel) somehow guilty about coming to the US to continue my education, leaving her thousands of miles away. After all the hardships of cancer, it's very hard for her to miss her only son being stranded here on a single-entry visa for several years. The only comfort that I can give myself is that in the long run, when I complete my education and thrive in my new career as a sociologist, it would make her happy. As retired teachers, both my parents feel upbeat about anybody's academic progress (although both preferred me to remain loyal to electrical engineering). As a hardhearted engineer however, I believe enduring hardships in the short-term is worth the fruits you get in the long-run. I've followed such a maxim over my engineering years and thanks be to God, I've succeeded with almost all my mid-term and long-term objectives.

Having decided to volunteer, I trivially chose to serve in the survivor tent when I registered online. That way, I could not only have more interesting observations, but also through interaction with the likes of my mother, I could feel that I was serving her (and when I called her after the event finished and explained about my day and my feelings, she was clearly moved).

However, things did not go exactly the way I had dreamed. It appears that my engineering karma follows me like a curse even when I look for the most social positions. When I arrived at Levis Commons in Perrysburg (the venue for the event), although I was an early bird, all my preferred positions in the tent were already taken. I was given the job of collecting hope cards (where survivors would write their name) and passion cards (where survivors would write about their experience with breast cancer) and placing them on the Wall of Hope. As it was very windy out there, I had to post them on the board securely and yet in an organized legible way. Doesn't sound much like a sociological job? I don't feel that way either. Once an engineer, always an engineer. Here's how my job looked:


And doing such an engineering job deprived me (to a great degree) of the major purpose of choosing the survivor tent: interacting with the survivors. It appears that my engineering-natured job at Cherry Street Mission was more fruitful, sociologically speaking. Although, I still had some survivors watching my job (what I did on others when I was a supervising engineer) and at times commending what I did. Yet, there was something I didn't feel comfortable with: money.

I've crunched numbers all my life. But I don't enjoy dealing with prices or price calculations. Managing my personal budget is the only monetary job that I've succumbed to (and I have to brag I'm very good at that; nobody believed I could survive in the US with the meager stipend I get here as a Graduate Assistant). Over my engineering years, I did my best to stay away from financial aspects of the projects. I preferred to stick to the technical side of the job. Even when I served as a supervising engineer in that hydroelectric powerplant project, although I did anything that could help the project (even jobs that were not relevant to my line of duty) I never let my project manager engage me with statements (the money claimed by contractors in a project must be approved by supervising engineers). But here, to my discomfort, I had to mention about the donation for hope cards (which were rather fancy).

Please, this event is not just about breast cancer survivors; it's for survivors. It's understandable that other people have to donate money. It's a fundraiser after all. But why should survivors pay to put their name on a bulletin board? Actually, one of the survivors grumbled that she had already paid enough and chose to fill the passion card (which was free). And I felt so embarrassed. Anyway.

Speaking of donations and money, I strongly encourage you to bookmark the Breast Cancer Site and click at the top of the page on the pink "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button everyday. This is a convenient way to donate money for free mammograms for women who can't afford it. Mammography was what led to early detection of cancer in my mother in both instances (the second time, the tumor was a malignant, rare, infiltrating type) and saved her from chemotherapy (which she probably wouldn't survive) or probably much worse consequences. Not all women afford mammograms on a regular basis and they may get to know about the tumors when it's too late.

And clicking on this button is a way of donating without actually paying money out of your pocket. In case you wonder how, be assured it's not a hoax (like eternally-circulating Emails claiming that merely by forwarding the email to all your firends, you help some fictitious dying kid somewhere). I research these things on Snopes (urban legend reference page). The Breast Cancer Site and websites like them are paid by advertising (not that I like or approve of all the ads in there). You can find more explanation on their website and also on Snopes page. The good thing is that unlike many similar pages, you can click the button several times a day.

And like any fundraiser, there was a lot going on beside the main event (which was walking). Other volunteers had a better chance to use their talents (isn't engineering a talent?) to serve or entertain people. Have a look at the schedule of activities. There was a lady who made stylized portraits (without collecting any donations). Near the end of the event, as I had nothing to do, I sat for her to have a portrait. And it was fun. Here's a photo of me accompanied by my job (as an engineer) and her job (as an artist):


Well, in her artwork, she not only trimmed my beard a bit (something I've stopped doing since landing in the US), but also put shining stars in my eyes. Probably that (and her spending much time and effort on me) had something to do with her finding out that my mother is a breast cancer survivor. Or maybe it was when she asked me whether I wanted to have the things on my t-shirt to be in my portrait. Of those things on my volunteer t-shirt, what I liked the most was the motto: Hope starts with me.