This team was set up as a way for us (Kim Pennington, Jamie Trimble & Julie Stubblefield) to pay tribute to our mother, Christy Blanchard. Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer three times over 16 years. She was first diagnosed in 1989, went through a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Mom had a great attitude while facing her disease - she was very positive and always smiling. She had great prognosis and was cancer-free until December 2000 when her cancer came back. At that time, our father was also battling cancer - colon cancer. Mom was told in early 2002 that her cancer was gone. Since she wasn't getting treatment, she was able to give all of her efforts to take care of Dad, who lost his battle in April 2002. Mom's cancer recurred in February 2003. She started treatments again and fought as hard as she could until she lost her battle in October 2005.
Mom was very involved with the Knoxville Race for the Cure. She was a committee member from the race's first year in Knoxville. She loved the meetings, seeing the t-shirts, wearing the pink Survivor hat, the hugs and smiles and the feeling she got when she crossed the finish line and was handed that pink carnation. Mom was also the first committee member / volunteer from the Knoxville race to pass away from the disease. In 2005 after Mom's death, the Knoxville Affiliate named the award given each year to the most involved volunteer the "Christy Blanchard Volunteer Award". That award was presented to us in 2005.
Mom's last race was 2004. She wasn't able to walk that year, but she still came down and watched us and visited with the other survivors. In 2005, Mom was too sick to go to meetings, but she had people come to the house to help with Save the Date cards. Mom passed away 10 days before the 2005 race. That year, we decided to start raising money in Mom's name. When we told Mom what we were doing and that we had raised over $2,000, she was thrilled and honored. In the end, our team raised over $7,500 in 2005 and we were the top fundraiser that year. 2006 was the Komen Knoxville Race's tenth year. Jamie, Julie & I were an important part of the race that year. The theme of the 2006 race was Celebrate, Remember, Inspire and we were in charge of the Remember tent. We had a display where people could send in pictures and information to remember their loved ones lost to the disease.
We have continued our Christy's Angels fundraising efforts since 2005 and hope to continue for many years. We raise money for Komen Knoxville Race for the Cure in Mom's name every year. Our team has raised over $14,500 in memory of Mom since 2005. We design and sell our team t-shirts, sell pins and collect donations from friends and family. My son, Colton, even had a lemonade stand last year to raise money in memory of Grandma. If you are interested in walking with us or supporting our team in any way, leave me a comment and I will get in touch with you!
