CANTON — Real angels don’t wear halos. At least, not yet.
Real angels wear purple. They smile brilliantly and their love shines even brighter.
Real angels work to make their community a better place. They give time and effort to be sure that every woman has the support system she needs to find resources and courage to face her fears about breast cancer.
Real angels hold your hand, cry with you, hug you and laugh with you.
Mercy Medical Center has those kinds of angels — honest-to-goodness, real-life ANGELs.
Mercy’s ANGEL (African American women Nurturing and Giving Each other Life) Network, a group of black women committed to raising breast cancer awareness, is 75 volunteers strong and counting. Together, the women involved are changing the lives across the county by encouraging early detection through annual mammograms and monthly self examinations.
Diane Wofsey, nurse coordinator for the Mercy Breast Care Center, has seen how dramatically the ANGELs have impacted the county in the seven years since the network began.
“It used to be that I could count on one hand the number of African American women who came in for breast exams each month,” Wofsey said. “Now, I get more than 10 each week. That says a lot about these ladies here. That shows how much they care for each other and their community.”
SHARE, INSPIRE
The ANGEL Network mission is simple: Spread the word.
Volunteers with the ANGEL Network work through their churches, clubs, neighborhoods, community organizations, local breast cancer awareness events and health fairs to spread the word about the importance of early detection. That’s a critical message, especially for black women.
According to Wofsey, the breast cancer mortality rate for black women is higher than that of white women even though black women are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Black women, also, are more likely than white women to get breast cancer at younger ages.
Those reasons make annual mammograms and monthly self exams critical.
Nearly all of the women volunteering through ANGEL Network are not breast cancer survivors. Many of them have close friends and relatives who have battled cancer, but most of them volunteer because they want to help someone else.
They volunteer because they care.“You know what it is?” ANGEL Ravene Allison said of what drives the volunteers. “It’s love. If everybody would just love everybody, we wouldn’t have any problems.”
It’s true, ANGEL Jonnie Smith Jackson said.
“We just want to reach out,” Smith Jackson said. “We just want to help someone. If we can help one person, it’s worth it.”
ANGELS, SISTERS
Mercy’s ANGEL Network is as big as it is today because of three women.
Nearly a decade ago, Wofsey attended a conference in Washington D.C. and heard about the only chapter of the ANGEL Network, a program that was started in Colorado.
Inspired by what she heard, Wofsey returned home and began to work on securing the resources to implement the program through Mercy Medical Center.
Finally, after two years, she was ready to get things started and she, along with only two ANGELs, began the arduous task of raising breast cancer awareness and creating the support network.
Seven years and 73 ANGELs later, Mercy’s program is going strong and getting stronger. It’s exceeded Wofsey’s greatest expectations and it’s been able to do that because it’s about more than volunteering.
It’s about sisterhood.
“We white women, we have no idea what ‘sisterhood’ is,” Wofsey said with a grin. “I’ve walked through the airport with some of these ladies and they are hugging everyone. I think, ‘you can’t possibly know all of these people.’”
ANGEL Joanne McPherson wrapped an arm around Wofsey’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze.
“She’s a sista in training,” McPherson said with a laugh.
In all honesty, McPherson said, the women who volunteer through the ANGEL Network are able to do what they do because of Wofsey. The ANGELs may be driven by a passion for their community and love for their neighbors, but they are inspired by Wofsey’s own passion for the program.
“She really inspires us,” McPherson said. “She got us going and she keeps us going.”
Smith Jackson believes in the power of the ANGEL Network. The enthusiasm and passion of all the ladies who volunteer is contagious. You can’t help but find inspiration and friendship in this group.
They are, after all, just trying to make the world a better place.
“We’re just trying to earn our wings,” Smith Jackson said with a laugh.
For more information about Mercy’s ANGEL Network and its volunteer opportunities call Diane Wofsey at 330-580-4727.
Real angels wear purple. They smile brilliantly and their love shines even brighter.
Real angels work to make their community a better place. They give time and effort to be sure that every woman has the support system she needs to find resources and courage to face her fears about breast cancer.
Real angels hold your hand, cry with you, hug you and laugh with you.
Mercy Medical Center has those kinds of angels — honest-to-goodness, real-life ANGELs.
Mercy’s ANGEL (African American women Nurturing and Giving Each other Life) Network, a group of black women committed to raising breast cancer awareness, is 75 volunteers strong and counting. Together, the women involved are changing the lives across the county by encouraging early detection through annual mammograms and monthly self examinations.
Diane Wofsey, nurse coordinator for the Mercy Breast Care Center, has seen how dramatically the ANGELs have impacted the county in the seven years since the network began.
“It used to be that I could count on one hand the number of African American women who came in for breast exams each month,” Wofsey said. “Now, I get more than 10 each week. That says a lot about these ladies here. That shows how much they care for each other and their community.”
SHARE, INSPIRE
The ANGEL Network mission is simple: Spread the word.
Volunteers with the ANGEL Network work through their churches, clubs, neighborhoods, community organizations, local breast cancer awareness events and health fairs to spread the word about the importance of early detection. That’s a critical message, especially for black women.
According to Wofsey, the breast cancer mortality rate for black women is higher than that of white women even though black women are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Black women, also, are more likely than white women to get breast cancer at younger ages.
Those reasons make annual mammograms and monthly self exams critical.
Nearly all of the women volunteering through ANGEL Network are not breast cancer survivors. Many of them have close friends and relatives who have battled cancer, but most of them volunteer because they want to help someone else.
They volunteer because they care.“You know what it is?” ANGEL Ravene Allison said of what drives the volunteers. “It’s love. If everybody would just love everybody, we wouldn’t have any problems.”
It’s true, ANGEL Jonnie Smith Jackson said.
“We just want to reach out,” Smith Jackson said. “We just want to help someone. If we can help one person, it’s worth it.”
ANGELS, SISTERS
Mercy’s ANGEL Network is as big as it is today because of three women.
Nearly a decade ago, Wofsey attended a conference in Washington D.C. and heard about the only chapter of the ANGEL Network, a program that was started in Colorado.
Inspired by what she heard, Wofsey returned home and began to work on securing the resources to implement the program through Mercy Medical Center.
Finally, after two years, she was ready to get things started and she, along with only two ANGELs, began the arduous task of raising breast cancer awareness and creating the support network.
Seven years and 73 ANGELs later, Mercy’s program is going strong and getting stronger. It’s exceeded Wofsey’s greatest expectations and it’s been able to do that because it’s about more than volunteering.
It’s about sisterhood.
“We white women, we have no idea what ‘sisterhood’ is,” Wofsey said with a grin. “I’ve walked through the airport with some of these ladies and they are hugging everyone. I think, ‘you can’t possibly know all of these people.’”
ANGEL Joanne McPherson wrapped an arm around Wofsey’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze.
“She’s a sista in training,” McPherson said with a laugh.
In all honesty, McPherson said, the women who volunteer through the ANGEL Network are able to do what they do because of Wofsey. The ANGELs may be driven by a passion for their community and love for their neighbors, but they are inspired by Wofsey’s own passion for the program.
“She really inspires us,” McPherson said. “She got us going and she keeps us going.”
Smith Jackson believes in the power of the ANGEL Network. The enthusiasm and passion of all the ladies who volunteer is contagious. You can’t help but find inspiration and friendship in this group.
They are, after all, just trying to make the world a better place.
“We’re just trying to earn our wings,” Smith Jackson said with a laugh.
For more information about Mercy’s ANGEL Network and its volunteer opportunities call Diane Wofsey at 330-580-4727.
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