BOISE, Idaho – August 16, 2019 – Cancer patients, their families and state policymakers are coming together at the State Capitol in Boise on Saturday, August 17, 2019, to decorate Lights of Hope bags that will stay lit overnight, spelling the word HOPE on the steps of the State Capitol before being packed and shipped to Washington, D.C. to light up the nation’s capital on September 10th.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) holds the annual event every year and this year there will be a rally to honor Dr. Greg Hampikian, a local Boise State University cancer researcher who has helped discovered two new cancer-killing drugs that are highly effective at eliminating tumors. Dr. Hampikian will be adding his Lights of Hope bag to the nearly 200 bags expected to light up the Capitol along with similar bags from the offices of Sen. Mike Crapo, Sen. Jim Risch, Congressman Russ Fulchert and Congressman Mike Simpson.
ACS CAN, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, gives people impacted by cancer a powerful voice by holding an annual lobby day in Washington, D.C. that culminates with a Lights of Hope ceremony in front of the Lincoln Memorial. More than 30,000 lit bags from every state, honoring a cancer survivor or memorializing a loved one lost to the disease, will surround the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The bags will travel to DC with four volunteer legislative ambassadors from Idaho who are participating in the ACS CAN lobby day on Capitol Hill.
ACS CAN wants to carry the stories of Idahoans who are fighting cancer, lost loved ones to the disease or survived battles with cancer to Washington as a reminder to Congress that the Gem State is counting on their lawmakers to vote to increase the nation’s investment in cancer research. For a $10 donation, the public can add their name or the name of a loved one to a Lights of Hope bag. Go to https://www.fightcancer.org/states/idaho to find out more or order a Lights of Hope bag online.
What: ACS CAN Idaho 2019 Lights of Hope Rally at the State Capitol
Where: State Capitol, 700 W Jefferson Street, Boise, Idaho
When: August 17, 2019
2:30 p.m.
Lights of Hope bags assembled by cancer advocates on the steps of the Capitol to form HOPE in giant letters.
4:30 p.m.
Cancer research rally honoring Boise State University cancer researcher Dr. Greg Hampikian who is helping break new ground in the cancer fight.
5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Volunteers selling Lights of Hope bags; members of the public decorating the bags.
After months of delay and hard negotiations, Congress has finally passed a funding bill! The bill includes a small increase for cancer research and prevention programs.