Contestants in next year’s Miss Cayman pageant have picked the fight against cancer as their platform.
“We have chosen one platform this year – the Cancer Society – as it will be less cumbersome on the contestants while they prepare for the pageant,” said Derri Dacres-Lee, chairperson of the Miss Cayman Committee.
“The Cancer Society is one of the nonprofit organizations that is not as heavily funded as some of the others, and most of us have been affected by it as cancer is very prevalent in the Cayman Islands,” Ms. Dacres-Lee said.
The contestants were introduced to the Cancer Society organization during a short meet-and-greet session at the Holiday Inn Resort last Saturday.
At the event, Cancer Society operations manager Jennifer Weber shared with contestants the organization’s latest efforts to assist cancer patients and the technologies that are available to do so.
Contestants then exchanged ideas on what they could do to assist the charity in fighting the disease, and expressed their eagerness to begin volunteer work, which should commence within the next few weeks.
Honored that the Miss Cayman contestants would choose the Cancer Society as the charity of their choice, Ms. Weber explained the role contestants would play to assist the organization.
“The contestants will help us with events, programs and in little ways that will make a big difference to the community. We have over 85 financial aid patients we are assisting right now, so the need for our help is great,” she said.
Ms. Weber said, in addition to its efforts in education and direct assistance to cancer patients, the Cancer Society also supports large-scale public health initiatives, such as taking the lead on bringing the HPV cervical cancer prevention vaccine to Cayman for both public and private sector physicians, and creating a National Cancer Registry to create and archive cancer statistics in Cayman.
“The Cancer Society plays an integral role in our community, and we look forward to partnering with them in their efforts to fight this dreadful disease,” said Ms. Dacres-Lee.
She also thanked the Holiday Inn Resort for sponsoring the meeting venue and refreshments.
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