“Losing my grandmother to cancer changed my life,” commented longtime American Cancer Society volunteer Bobby Cherry, who splits his time between his childhood home in Moon and his current home in Erie. “The American Cancer Society helped me to turn that grief into purpose.”
Cherry was a middle school student when his grandmother succumbed to bladder cancer. His family pulled together and participated in Relay For Life as a way of grieving their loss. Cherry became hooked and now, thirty years later, has continued to volunteer with the American Cancer Society through a number of community events, including those in the Pittsburgh area and Erie. He also is part of the volunteer leadership team in Erie.
“Relay For Life became part of my life after cancer took away someone I loved so much,” he added. “I was young when I first started to volunteer; but I understood something about the connection Relay brought me. Relay For Life gave me somewhere to put the pain from my grandmother’s passing. Along the way I came to realize that the money raised by ACS funds research, supports patients and families, provides education and trusted information, and gives communities a way to fight together. I keep volunteering because research matters, because rides to treatment matter, because providing lodging to patients who need to travel for care matters, because a phone call with someone who knows where to point you next can matter more than people realize.”
In addition to his involvement in Relay For Life in both Butler and Erie Counties and his position on the volunteer leadership team in Erie, Cherry has also volunteered for annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks, served on regional and national leadership teams, organized conferences, trained volunteers, and helped to drive organizational initiatives.
He concluded, “After 30 years I’m still here – still volunteering, still raising money, still sharing the story, and still believing that together we can help end cancer as we know it, for everyone.”
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