19th Annual It Only Takes A Spark Cancer Walk Results

by Core Committee | Jun 20, 2016 | News

Total Raised: $133,100*

Great weather, but a little on the hot side at this year’s 19^th Annual It Only Takes A Spark Cancer Walk. Much appreciation and thanks goes out to all our teams and volunteers for this year’s walk. Without them and the great people in the greater Grant County area, we couldn’t raise such funds. A HUGE Thank You again to all of you! Nearly 2600 luminaries were sold in honor or memory of resulting in over 1100 names to be read at the walk.

Because of the hot weather, attendance was down. Though a great crowd was still present to enjoy the picnic arranged by Jim Trevett of Trevett’s Cafe, and his countless volunteers, with the Kiwanis club serving.

A beautiful rendition of the national anthem was sang by Amberly Warren. The lap of life was led off by Wayde Fraasch as our honorary chair along with many cancer survivors. Our two new teams with the walk this year were the C-Team and Poet Biorefining. The C-Team, led up by Kim Bjerke sold well over 6000 cupcakes to raise funds for this year’s efforts. That is a lot of baking and decorating. This also awarded them the Year Round and the top Non-Corporate fundraising team awards. Poet Biorefining showcased an ethanol fueled Nascar car and it was checked out by many.

The teams continue to get more creative each year and choosing the team for creative campsite was challenging. The creative campsite was awarded to the Frozen themed team held by Great Western Bank. The pictures you could take with Frozen characters was a big hit and if your child dressed up, you got a special treat. They also did very well in fundraising this year to come out as the top corporate fundraising team.

The inflatables were a huge hit again this year along with the balloon launcher. Many people also stuck around to attend the live auction which included a variety of baskets, hand crafted items, and plants assembled by teams or donated to the walk. All of which raised over $6000 to the walk.  A fantastic display of fireworks also was enjoyed which was donated by Poppers Fireworks, Betty’s Fireworks and Roger McCulloch. Zumba and the team competitions helped keep the teams active through the night and the Bulldog team won the most points over all to award them a pizza party donated by Pizza Hut.

A big shout-out goes to the Merchants Fighting Cancer, led up by Twin Valley Tire, for assembling a great list of items to raffle off. They raised another $15,000 for the cancer walk. Over the past 7 years, they’ve raised $75,000 for It Only Takes A Spark. Also another shout out goes to the Marching Medics for their phenomenal luminary sales. They sold almost 600.

Some fun was also had with “Give Cancer the Boot”. Purple boots, donated by Runnings, were decorated by the teams and displayed at various locations around Milbank to collect the loose change from the community. This idea came up just a few weeks before the walk. It raised a community challenge to root for their favorite team. Great Western Bank raised the most funds and were presented a travelling award. We plan to have the boots to show up at events and businesses throughout the year.

There will be two spots opening up on the core committee this year. Angie Johnson will be leaving after 4 years of service. Matt Scott is also leaving after 3 years. Both were presented plaques by Amanda Cummins and thanked for their service to It Only Takes A Spark.

We challenge anyone interested in helping out in any creative way or becoming a team to contact us to continue the fight against cancer and helping those affected by cancer in our community. If interested about the core committee, you are asked to get in contact with one of the current members or email us at [email protected].

All it takes is a little spark to make a difference and we certainly have a LOT OF SPARK in this community. Thank you again to all our sponsors, teams, volunteers and the community for another successful year!

Photos
Check out our photo gallery here from Tracie Grant Photography.
Can also visit pictures from the Valley Express here.

* The amount includes some various estimates from additional parties, but is believed to be a good representation of funds raised this year. It was another absolutely AMAZING year!!!

Walk Information

• Timeline of Events
• Penny Wars – Give Cancer The Boot
• Auction Items
• Campsite Happenings

Team Awards

• Team Spirit – The Pit Crew (St Williams/Whetstone Insurance)
• Fundraising Year Round – C-Team (Kim’s Creations)
• Creative Campsite – Frozen (Great Western Bank)
• Corporate Fundraising Team – Frozen (Great Western Bank)
• Non-Corporate Fundraising Team – C-Team (Kim’s Creations)

We have many people to thank!

MC: Duane Tillman
Picnic: Trevett’s Cafe and Family, Hartman’s Family Foods, Ol’ Mill Meats, Waldner Meats, Milbank Kiwanis Club, Valley Queen, & Beren’s Warehouse Groceries
National Anthem: Amberley Warren
Color Guard: 740th Transportation Company
Honorary Chair: Wayde Fraasch

We Thank Our Teams

United Pride

Sponsors of It Only Takes A Spark Cancer Walk

Torchbearer

Illuminator
NorthWestern Energy
Milbank Eye Care
Bien Pharmacy
Dakota Granite
First Bank and Trust
Food & Fuel
Lewis
Montage
Northside Medical Center
Stengel Oils
Valley Dairy Supply
Valley Rental & Recycling
Wells Fargo
Whetstone Storage

Heartwarmer
Bierschbach Dental
Bobbi Bohlen
Cold Spring Granite
Conroy Eye Care
Flower Shoppe
Gesswein Motors
Great Western Bank
Hicks Construction
Insurance Solutions Plus
Jamey Jurgens
Johnson Dental
Midwest Powersports Inc.
Mundwiler Funeral Home
Otter Tail Power Co.
Schuneman Equipment
State Auto
State Farm
Victory Farms
Wilbur Ellis
Window World

Trailblazer
Shopko
Chiropractic In Motion
Angerhofer Plumbing & Heating
Healthfirst Chiropractic
Hunt Chiropractic
ITC
Milbank House Movers
Trapp Plumbing Co.
Whetstone Valley Electric
Brewster Building Center
Boos Law Office
T&T Heating & A/C

Merchant Ticket Winners

Much Thanks To These Individuals & Businesses!

2016 Auction Items

by Core Committee | Jun 9, 2016 | News

Here’s is just some of items for the Live Auction on June 10

2016 Cancer Walk Sponsors

by Core Committee | Jun 3, 2016 | News

We can’t thank our sponsors of the 2016 Cancer Walk enough. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Torchbearer

Avera Medical Group Milbank/Big Stone Therapies
Grant County Review
Linda’s Fashions
Poet Biorefining
Popper’s/Betty’s Fireworks/Roger & Irene McCulloch
Thrivent Financial
Twin Valley Tire
Valley Office Products

Illuminator

Bien Pharmacy
Dakota Granite
First Bank and Trust
Food & Fuel
Lewis
Montage
Northside Medical Center
Stengel Oil
Valley Dairy Supply
Valley Rental & Recycling
Wells Fargo
Whetstone Storage
Milbank Eye Care
NorthWestern Energy

Heartwarmer

Bierschbach Dental
Cold Spring Granite
Conroy Eye Care
Flower Shoppe
Gesswein Motors
Hicks Construction
Insurance Solutions Plus
Jamey Jurgens
Johnson Dental
Midwest Powersports Inc.
Mundwiler Funeral Home
Otter Tail Power Co.
Schuneman Equipment
State Auto
State Farm
Victory Farms
Wilbur Ellis
Window World

Trailblazer

Boos Law Office
T&T Heating & A/C
Brewster Building Center
Chiropractic In Motion
Healthfirst Chiropractic
Hunt Chiropractic
ITC
Milbank House Movers
Trapp Plumbing Co.
Whetstone Valley Electric
Shopko
Subway

Cancer Walk to Donate $40,000 towards 3D Mammography Machine

by Core Committee | Jun 2, 2016 | News

Cancer Walk to Donate $40,000 towards 3D Mammography Machine
Milbank, SD – June 2, 2016

It Only Takes A Spark has donated $40,000 to Northeast South Dakota Healthcare Foundation towards the purchase of the new 3D mammography machine the Milbank Area Hospital Avera recently acquired. The core committee met with teams about plans back in March after hospital administrator, Natalie Gauer, discussed some of the new equipment needs at the hospital. “With the teams doing a majority of the fund raising efforts, we wanted their input to what the board was considering” stated Matt Scott, Core Committee member. “The best way for patients to have a greater chance of being a cancer survivor is with early detection” Matt continued. “Knowing we can have some of the latest technology in our community is a great step forward in fighting breast cancer. With early detection, it should considerably help a better prognosis and treatment plans for patients.” Gauer stated “We are striving to be a leader in women’s health in our area and offer state-of-the-art technology. We are grateful to receive this donation as it makes a considerable difference as we work to positively affect the health of our community.  We thank those who were a part in raising this money and assure them this outstanding technology will affect many people in our area.”

Funds for such donations were earmarked over the past couple years by the core committee. Each year 20% of the funds raised are typically designated towards efforts with cancer-related equipment, services, or even cancer research. Most recently, a portion of those funds purchased the treatment chairs currently used at the hospital for patients receiving chemotherapy. We’ve also been supporting the local Cancer Support Group held at the Milbank Area Hospital Avera. “Knowing that we are assisting patients with cancer related expenses and enabling our healthcare services with state-of-the-art technology is a move we all can appreciate,” Matt concluded.

Each year the It Only Takes A Spark group hosts an annual Cancer Walk in Milbank to raise funds for cancer diagnosed patients of Grant County, South Dakota. A minimum of 70% of those funds goes to cancer diagnosed patients by reimbursing those expenses, supplying gas cards, etc. through an annual application process. The remaining 10% or up to $10,000 goes towards operating expenses.

The Core Committee includes Angie Johnson, Amanda Cummins, Matt Scott, Ann Tuchscherer, and Aaron Anderson. The group is very busy gearing up with our next walk on June 10 as eleven teams and the core committee host our 19^th Annual It Only Takes A Spark Cancer Walk. It’s also never too late about starting a new team for 2017. If anyone is interested, they are encouraged to contact us. Those interested in applying for funds or are looking for more information about It Only Takes A Spark should check out our website at https://takesaspark.org and following us on our Facebook page.

– It Only Takes A Spark Core Committee

• 2016 Timeline for June 10