Looking For Walkers To Help Light The Night

Newtown residents Ginny Chion and Beth Montoya are inviting everyone to join them in the Light the Night Walk 2003 to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Fairfield County and to raise awareness of the disease that is the number one killer of children.

 Light The Night is a two-mile twilight walk held nationwide to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by cancer. Participants carry specially illuminated balloons –– white for cancer survivors and red for their supporters, families, and friends.

This year’s walk at the Penfield Pavilion I in Fairfield will be held on October 3.

Light The Night’s goal is to pay tribute to survivors of all forms of cancer and to raise funds to cure leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and Hodgkin’s disease and improve the quality of life for patients and their families. More than 617,000 Americans have these blood-borne cancers. Every nine minutes, one of them dies.

Beth Montoya’s daughter, Emily, who will be 5 in October, was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago and is in remission. Ginny Chion’s son, Greg, was a senior at Newtown High School when he died from the complications of leukemia in 2000.

Light The Night participants include corporate, family and friend, school and university, and civic organization teams and individuals who walk in honor of those touched by cancer. Last year about 50 people joined the local Light the Night team on the walk around the historic district of Fairfield, raising about $6,500. There will be food provided by American Steakhouse, drinks by SoBe, as well as clowns, a deejay, WICC radio and Channel 12. Children are welcome.

Walk participants are encouraged to join the Newtown team or to start their own team. Participants will receive Light The Night T-shirts.

Other prizes also are available for the top fundraisers. Walkers ask family, friends, and businesses to sponsor them through donations.

“I Helped Light the Night” paper “balloons” are being sold at the swim meet at Newtown High School on Friday, September 19, and are also available at Stop & Save Liquor Store in the Sand Hill Plaza.

For more information about the Newtown Night Walkers call Beth Montoya at 270-8096 or Ginny Chion at 426-0851.

To register call 877-LTN-WALK (877-586-9255) or visit www.lightthenight.org/fct.