by John Kinney of Kinney Writers Group
Pictured:
Roxann Gardner, Vice President of NRG, receives attention
from Shari Sternberger, owner of Elements of Energy
On Saturday,
November 7th,
2009, Cancer Support Foundation, Inc. (CSFI) held its first
Spa Day at the Homewood Suites by Hilton® in Columbia,
Maryland to benefit cancer patients.
CSFI provides financial resources to everyone undergoing
cancer
treatment in Maryland. President Cindy Carter was very
gracious as she thanked sponsors, vendors, and attendees
for their support.
Maryland State Senator James Robey joined Carter in a
ribbon cutting ceremony and praised her efforts. Homewood
Suites provided a comfortable atmosphere for the more than
200 people who were pampered, fed, and educated at the
event. “For us it’s truly an honor,” said Julia Mattis,
Director of Sales at the Homewood Suites. She praised the
event’s ability “to reinforce that there’s still a lot of
good human spirit around.”
Carter was not surprised at the “phenomenal turnout”
because “people buying tickets told me how much they really
wanted to be pampered.” Attendees spent up to 8 hours
getting samples of pampering activities and health and
wellness strategies. “I think I’ve done almost 80 people
today,” said Shari Sternberger of Elements of Energy, LLC,
who demonstrated the Acutonics® healing
system.
Businesses also helped by making donations to the Spa Day.
Sixteen food vendors, listed on the CSFI web site, provided
attendees with great food, which was included in the
entrance fee. Businesses donated services and items for a
silent auction, giving them exposure and allowing them to
show their support, even if they couldn’t be vendors.
The first Spa Day met Carter’s goals, and future events
will continue to provide great value to attendees with
fantastic food and pampering services for a low price.
There will be Spa Days on Sunday, March
21st,
2010 at Baltimore’s Best Confetti Event Center in Towson,
Maryland and on Saturday, April 17th,
2010 at the Big Vanilla Gym in Pasadena, Maryland. Other
Spa Days are being planned. The first one honored Sharon
Gutkoska, who passed away in September, and future Spa Days
will honor other cancer patients.
At the March Spa Day, kosher foods will be provided. "We’re
probably going to have double the number of spa service
vendors,” said Carter. A mini Spa Day will also be held at
the American Cancer Society’s Western Howard County Relay
for Life in June 2010.
The Spa Days struck a cord with the business community,
“There’s no end to the number of vendors that want to be
involved.” Carter partners with businesses of all sorts,
who support CSFI in exchange for some exposure for their
businesses. The Spa Days “are off to a good start,“ she
said. “We just have to be very smart about making sure
we’re always offering a good service to everybody.”
