There was frost on the pumpkins, but zebra stripes on the North Yarmouth, Maine, fire station for the Third Annual Benefit Breakfast in support of neuroendocrine tumor (NET) awareness and research on October 6, 2019.
A few hundred people gathered (who mostly sported flannel plaid stripes, not zebra stripes, since the town is 10 miles west of LL Bean’s headquarters) to break bread at tables, which displaced the town’s fire engines for a day. The event honors two first responders and a town official lost to neuroendocrine cancer in recent years.
“It was a long day starting at 2 am and finally wrapping up at 4 pm but it is all worth the effort if it helps find a cure,” said Assitant Town Manager Debbie Grover, one of the three volunteer leaders that coordinated the breakfast.
Love in action
Watch this video of the many volunteers tackling
- 75 dozen large eggs
- 100 pounds of potatoes
- 60 pounds of pancake mix
with love to #SparkHope for neuroendocrine cancer.
Going all out zebra
This small community will never forget the three people they’ve lost to NETs since 2017. Knowing that NET is an uncommon cancer, Debbie started asking what they could do to raise awareness a few years ago.
The advocacy that ensued has helped this town of 4,000 expand its identity to include almost year-round NET outreach. In addition to the annual breakfast, you’ll see zebra stripes and NET education materials at parades, food festivals, and every time it snows…..
North Yarmouth’s zebra-striped snowplow is known nationwide after winning a photo contest last winter with the American Public Works Association (APWA). The winning photo entry then led to a story in the APWA magazine to showcase the people behind public works working to improve communities across North America.
Over the last three years, the town has reached thousands of people with NET education and donated more than $3,000 to NETRF for NET research. Proceeds from this year’s event will be doubled as part of the Spark Hope campaign match.
Many thanks to Debbie, Greg, Kevin and the many breakfast benefit volunteers for Sparking Hope in people’s hearts.
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You can Spark Hope for a brighter future. Make a gift. Host an event. Or volunteer to help us advance our understanding of NETs.
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