Cancer fundraising is a family affair

Nine years ago, Mandy Doocy was fed up.
“I had uncles who had died, then I lost a friend, and then with Dad, that was it,” she said. “I said, ‘enough is enough. What can we do?’”
What she did, along with her sister, Ashley Valek, was join the Blooming Prairie Cancer Group.
They did it in honor of her father, Scott Smith, who died a couple of years later of lymphoma, caused by chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
It made sense for their family, Doocy said, “because he taught us that giving back to the community was important. He raised us to have the integrity and strength we needed to get through anything that came our way.”
She and Valek joined the group “right before an auction,” Doocy said. “It was wild, and we just got thrown in, so we learned fast.”
The pair are in charge of the annual 5K, now in its eighth year. This year’s race is Saturday, Sept. 9. Registration begins at 9 a.m. at Central Park; the race begins at 10 a.m. A $30 registration fee includes a short-sleeved T-shirt; $35 includes a long-sleeved shirt.
Another sister, Brandy Munson, has designed their shirts every year. Their mother and other siblings all help with the race, and at other events during the weekend.
The money raised from the 5K is “part of the pot” that the local group donates toward cancer research.
Doocy, who is the oldest of her father’s nine children, said her family “always donates something (to the auction) in memory of him. We kids pool our money together, and we’re always trying to come up with new and interesting things for the auction.”
This year, her husband is building an axe-throwing board. It’s six-and-a-half feet tall, and includes the axes.
“Although Mandy and I are members of the BPCG, a lot of our family helps,” Valek said. “For me, getting involved was a way to give back and hopefully, through research, prevent someone in the future from losing a loved one. The fact that the group not only gives to cancer research, but also gives to community members who are battling cancer, made me want to help even more.”
Maybe it’s genetic.
“The cancer group is kind of a soft spot for our family,” Doocy said. “We were raised to volunteer for things. My mom was an EMT, and is a member of the Blooming Prairie Women of Today, so she’s kind of the matriarch for that. I’m doing my best to raise my kids to know that you should do anything you can do to help support not just people with cancer, but anybody who’s suffering.”
Smith was just 54 when he died in May of 2014, leaving behind an extended family that now immerses itself in ways to make a difference.
“He was always very proud of us,” Doocy said. “With everything going on these days, I think it’s easy for all of us to get caught up in our day-to-day lives. The Cancer Group has given us an opportunity to step outside of ourselves and see the big picture.”
Despite the work of the past 20 years, the women know that every day, another family is hearing a heartbreaking diagnosis.
“To families starting the cancer journey, try to stay positive – and don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Valek advised.
“Supporting others going through the same thing, and giving back, is our way of paying it forward,” Doocy said. “We wouldn’t be us without him.”