The Canadian Cancer Society office in North Bay launched Daffodil Month this morning and the yellow flower will figure prominently as a way to raise both cash and awareness.
April is the national fundraising month and volunteers are involved in numerous activities to raise vital funds for the fight against cancer.
"Everyone's been touched in some way, and I'm so excited to see the passion from some of these volunteers...the ones that are survivors but also the ones that aren't but have been touched in some way," Senior Manager Gil Pharand told reporters. "It's the passion of the volunteers that really keeps this organization going."
One of those is Isolde Krob, who has volunteered and worked with the Society and knows how important the work is. She is a breast cancer survivor.
"They did a lot for me when I had cancer," she told BayToday. "I want to give it back somehow."
She remembers what it was like to get the news.
"I was numb. I didn't know...am I sick, or what's going on? Can I work or not? There were lots of ups and downs, but I received a lot of help from the Daffodil Lodge in Sudbury. It was amazing being there, the way they looked after me, and it took a lot of the angst away from me and I realized that cancer can be beaten.
"Being there seeing that other people are in the same boat and are also suffering. I was lucky I had a lot of help."
Pharand says last year the campaign raised just over $50,000.
One of the activities is something called Paint Your Workplace Yellow.
"It's to get more people involved in a fun way. Some people sold yellow cupcakes last year, some people had their storefront dressed in yellow, so anything like that can raise a little bit of money for a great cause."
Money raised during Daffodil Month helps local patients and their families. Donations fund life-saving research, support services and other important work that means fewer Canadians will be touched by the disease.
Visit cancer.ca.
