Sorority holds flower sale to benefit UCAN on Saturday

The 10th Annual Xi Kappa Flower Sale benefiting the United Cancer Assistance Network will be held rain or shine from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at Poplar Bluff Realty, Highway 67 North or until items are sold out.

During the decade Xi Kappa has sponsored the flower sale, the group has donated 100% of the sale to UCAN, totaling approximately $23,500.

Mother’s Day is a special time in everyone’s life and the Xi Kappa sorority has offered a perfect way to honor mothers for 10 years, as well as cancer patients. The sorority sisters understand cancer. While some of them have battled cancer themselves, others have watched and helped family members and friends challenge the disease. The Xi Kappa Flower sale benefits UCAN and offers community members an opportunity to help the patients and their families.

All flowers are locally grown, and chosen especially for this sale by Xi Kappa members from an area nursery. There will be a colorful array of hanging baskets and hanging bags of petunias, impatiens, purslanes and more. If not preordered, the flowers are sold first come, first served.

UCAN Executive Director Melody Chailland said, “Flowers always are a perfect gift, but when you buy them at the benefit, the money will be helping cancer patients and their families.”

Mother’s Day comes between two major UCAN fundraising events which keep UCAN staff and volunteers busy, said Chailland. While UCAN staff and volunteers are working on the Sarah Jarboe White Walk in April and the Kay Jewel Memorial Golf Tournament May 31, the sorority sisters are busy raising funds and awareness for UCAN.

Xi Kappa is a group of hard working women, who just want to take the time, once a year, to show the Poplar Bluff area how much they care, said a member, adding, “We want people to know that UCAN is a place we support because they are helping people every day who are fighting a terrible battle with an illness that knows no boundaries. Young, old, rich, poor – cancer doesn’t care. If you have ever been in the position of being a caregiver to one who is fighting this disease, you need to know UCAN is there to help you, and we just want to help UCAN.”

Sorority members all agree, “Cancer is all too common in our lives. One of our members is a survivor of ovarian cancer. She has fought, with the help of her friends and family and continues to thrive; two of our members have had breast cancer and survived. We have lost parents, husbands, sisters, brothers, friends and coworkers to cancer. We know the terrible hardships families can face while their loved ones are going through treatment. We wanted to do something that would ease the burden not only on the patients, but on their families and caregivers, as well.”

Chailland said, “They are really on it. Groups like Xi Kappa make it possible for UCAN to help families fighting cancer every day. The money they raise and donate goes to providing gas cards, which mean the patients may get their treatment.”

The funds also may be used to pay bills like utilities and rent, Chailland said.

Flowers may be ordered in advance by calling Rhenda Hutchison at 573-776-5555.