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drumSTRONG
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| Scott Swimmer with wife Carola and sons Toby and Mason are joined by Weddington Mayor Nancy Anderson during the drumSTRONG kick-off ceremony. Photo courtesy of Jeff Cravotta |
From Saturday, May 5, at 4:54 p.m. to Sunday, May 6, at 5:54 p.m., anyone who passed by Misty Meadows Farm in Weddington would have noticed the group of approximately 1,000 drumSTRONG participants gathered in the fields, and perhaps even feel the reverberating rhythm of their drums.
Not only did the group achieve a new Guinness World Records record for the longest, continuous drumming, but the event accomplished what organizers set out to do: Raise awareness for the disease that touches so many, cancer.
The inaugural event was the brainchild of the Swimmer family, more specifically father Scott. He established the drumSTRONG organization following his son Mason’s battle with the rare bone cancer osteosarcoma.
As Scott launched the festivities on the chilly Saturday evening, he said to the crowd, “DrumSTRONG is my idea to bring more financial assistance and attention to cancer concerns, exhibit the local resources available to address cancer concerns and at the same time, have a blast doing it. … We are making a ‘sound’ impression on the health complexion of our community.”
According to Scott, drumSTRONG has grossed more than $100,000 to date, and those funds will be divided between Levine Children’s Hospital’s Hematology/Oncology Center and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Next year’s drumSTRONG date is already set for May 3-4, 2008.
To continue your support of the drumSTRONG effort, donate online at www.drumstrong.org or mail contributions to 725 Providence Road, Suite 210, Charlotte, NC, 28207.
Charlotte Weekly and Union County Weekly newspapers
were proud sponsors of this event.
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