Kum & Go Presents Lance Armstrong with $27,000 Donation
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- More than 200 Kum & Go convenience stores in Iowa raised more than $27,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and recently presented the check to Lance Armstrong, the company reported.
The funds were raised during the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), in which Armstrong was participating. Brenda Heeren, general manager of the Sioux City Kum & Go store, which raised the most donations, and Al Schwarz, its district manager, delivered the check to Armstrong while he was in Iowa last week for the LIVESTRONG Presidential Cancer Forum, where he discussed the battle against cancer, the company stated.
The estimated number of new cancer cases in Iowa in 2006 was 16,310, according to the LAF Web site. LAF efforts have reached several Iowa organizations -- the Iowa Department of Public Health, Gilda’s Club in the Quad Cities, Iowa State University -- which receive grant money for cancer prevention, research and control efforts.
"It was a great feeling to personally show Lance the generosity of Kum & Go customers throughout Iowa," Heeren, who lost a son to cancer earlier this year, said in a statement by the company. "We're always doing what we can to give back to the community. It's very rewarding to see all the Kum & Go stores in Iowa pull together and get their customers involved."
Kum & Go encouraged customers to donate $1, $5 or $10 in donations, and in return had customers sign their names on LIVESTRONG Iowa paper bands, which were linked together to create a chain of support for cancer research, the company stated.
The funds were raised during the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), in which Armstrong was participating. Brenda Heeren, general manager of the Sioux City Kum & Go store, which raised the most donations, and Al Schwarz, its district manager, delivered the check to Armstrong while he was in Iowa last week for the LIVESTRONG Presidential Cancer Forum, where he discussed the battle against cancer, the company stated.
The estimated number of new cancer cases in Iowa in 2006 was 16,310, according to the LAF Web site. LAF efforts have reached several Iowa organizations -- the Iowa Department of Public Health, Gilda’s Club in the Quad Cities, Iowa State University -- which receive grant money for cancer prevention, research and control efforts.
"It was a great feeling to personally show Lance the generosity of Kum & Go customers throughout Iowa," Heeren, who lost a son to cancer earlier this year, said in a statement by the company. "We're always doing what we can to give back to the community. It's very rewarding to see all the Kum & Go stores in Iowa pull together and get their customers involved."
Kum & Go encouraged customers to donate $1, $5 or $10 in donations, and in return had customers sign their names on LIVESTRONG Iowa paper bands, which were linked together to create a chain of support for cancer research, the company stated.