Springfield Plastics recently concluded its annual Drain For the Cure fundraiser with a check presentation at the Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU in Springfield.
Vice President of Springfield Plastics Jennifer Furkin presented a check of over $144,000 to Executive Director of Simmons Cancer Institute Dr. Aziz Khan. Furkin says that this year’s fundraiser put the annual fundraiser, now in its 10th year over an important milestone: ” We started this fundraiser 11 years ago with the hopes that we could do something to honor the memories of our lost family members, friends, and co-workers. Today, we are more than a decade into supporting the efforts of Simmons Cancer Institute and are proud to have raised more than $1,000,000 total for programs in Illinois and Iowa over the years. We are so thankful for the generosity of our employees, customers, partners, and communities that have driven our efforts to heights we never could have imagined.”
Dr. Khan says the money is then used to fund innovative research at SIU’s School of Medicine’s Simmons Cancer Institute on a rolling basis to chosen researchers: “And the research they produce initially helps generate more research and more innovative treatments.”
This year, Springfield Plastics welcomed United Community Bank to the team as a Drain for the Cure Partner. “Everyone’s been touched by cancer,” said Tate Jones, United Community Bank. “Last year my wife was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, so it was important to me, and my mother has battled cancer as well. So it’s something that’s close to the heart. Drain for the Cure has an amazing mission, cancer prevention and treatment. It’s something we’re proud to be involved with.”
Donations were also collected through an initiative held by Dale Himstedt of D&H Drainage and Shane Gray of S&J Gray Trucking called Grain for the Cure in which Himstedt and Gray picked up donations of grain right from the field of any farmer willing to drop a few bushels into their dump wagons. Himstedt and Gray then took the grain to a local elevator to be sold in the donors’ names. Together they raised $26,183.53 for Drain for the Cure! Himstedt collected $18,128.53 in grain donations, and Gray raised $8,005 (with a $1,000 donation from the Scoular Foundation). Grain for the Cure has been going since 2021 and continues to grow.
Several Central Illinois-area also schools helped support Drain for the Cure through Games for the Cure and other efforts, including Athens High School, Auburn High School, North Mac High School, Tri-City High School, and Waverly Elementary School.