Why I volunteer by Margaret McCulloch
margaret-mcculloch_lightboxPondering on the question of “what drives a volunteer”, I thought back to the thrill experienced when one’s message of the necessity of donor recruitment falls on fertile ground; of being caught up in the excitement of possibly saving a life; of the general camaraderie shared by the volunteers and staff of the Sunflower Fund; of the giggles on Bandana Day at the imaginative costumes wrought from a couple of bandanas – here particularly I remember one very hairy male in an itsy-bitsy Bandana Bikini.

My personal reason is a very deep and serious one, founded on a vow taken in 1999.
Even before our desperately ill teenager was confirmed as being in remission, even before our youngest of four children was determined as a 6/6 genetically matched stem cell donor for his “big” brother, I realised that South Africa’s then donor registry of 1200 thoughtful and caring souls was nowhere near large enough to provide lifesaving genetic matches for the many ill children and adults we grew to know and love during Cameron’s 9 months of chemo for AML, and his subsequent healing by way of a bone marrow transplant.  I vowed then that I would educate and recruit as many healthy South Africans as humanly possible for our fledgling South African Bone Marrow Registry.
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Why I volunteer by Sarah Young
My heart was first touched by a young, beautiful girl called Lindy Anderson. I didn’t know her at all but followed her story in the newspapers. As a mother myself, I felt huge sadness and desperation that this child had to find a donor. I went off to Pathcare and became a donor with the hope that I could help her. A few years later one of the Dad’s at my son’s school was diagnosed with Leukemia and also needed a donor. The school organized a donor drive and we had 250 people offering to become donors that day. It was so heartwarming to see parents, boys and teachers come together to help him. It was also so great to work with The Sunflower Fund team who are so dedicated to their work. I felt I could make a difference, because although I was not a match for Lindy or the Dad at the school, I may be a match for somebody out there. I could not think of a more special, humbling experience than saving someone’s life. So now I work at the offices when I have some time and help to build the database so that more lives can be saved.

Sarah Young
Cape Town
 
Why I volunteer by Mark Rosenthal
mark_lightboxWhere do I begin? - I first volunteered for The Sunflower Fund when I met the KZN Sunflower Fund staff in Durban selling bandanas in a restaurant in 2007 for National Bandana day!

That is when it all became real for me learning about the Sunflower Fund and what they stand for, After having a stem cell transplant myself and being lucky enough to be in remission and also being fortunate enough to be able to use my own stem cells, I realized how important it was to grow the donor registry in South Africa as many patients are not as fortunate and need to search for an unrelated donor match. 

I enjoy being a volunteer to help make a difference and support the dedicated team at the Sunflower Fund

I like to think being a cancer survivor and having had 2 transplants I feel that I have a lot to add to the Fund

Thanks

Mark
 
Why I volunteer by Mags van der Westhuizen
mags_lightboxThe Sunflower Fund has long been a part of my life.  It all started alongside my career on East Coast Radio when I was co hosting the afternoon drive show Mondays to Fridays.  The way in which the Fund was and is conducted was a huge draw card for me as I am extremely sticky on investing in an organization or project that is not run accordingly.  The Sunflower Fund struck me in every sense, for long I didn't understand the thorough diagnosis of cancer but always had a soft spot in my heart for families that were jolted by such a devastating disease.  It was only when my best friend Mark Rosenthal had been diagnosed that I took full diagnosis interest in the disease and realized its full complexity and true effect it had on family and friends.
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