For the 49th consecutive year, the Oklahoma chapter of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars has given a gift to support cancer research at the OMRF. This year’s gift of $3,860 brings the group’s total giving record to $155,877.
Ladies Auxiliary members raise funds through bake sales, garage sales, bingo games and individual donations, as well as the group’s annual Cancer Bazaar.
This year they injected even more variety into their efforts, putting on a quilt auction and spoofing the popular show “Dancing With The Stars” with their own spin called “Dancing With A Vet” to raise money.
“The Ladies Auxiliary has shown tremendous generosity and consistent support for OMRF’s efforts to fight cancer throughout the years,” said Allison Coleman, OMRF senior development associate. “We are honored to have them as one of our philanthropic partners and their track record speaks for itself.”
Since it was established in 1914, the Ladies Auxiliary has served veterans and communities nationwide.
The Auxiliary has more than 767,000 members, including 7,200 in Oklahoma. It has chapters in more than 80 Oklahoma cities and towns, including:
- Bartlesville
- El Reno
- Enid
- Lawton
- McAlester
- Woodward
In addition to its fundraising activities, the Auxiliary, combined with the VFW, provides more than 11 million hours of service to the community, and its Voice of Democracy Program helps provide scholarships to students in grades 9-12 across the U.S.
“We are amazed every year by the creative and inspired fundraisers the members of the Ladies Auxiliary come up with to raise money for cancer research,” said Coleman. “Finding new treatments for cancer is vital and serious work, but there’s no reason you can’t have fun raising money to help. We are grateful to them for 49 years of support.”
