No one should face cancer alone. That is the mantra at ESCA CancerSupport whose purpose is to provide professional emotional support and practical help to those affected by cancer in English, free of charge.
Free support, however, comes at a cost for ESCA CS. They rely on community donations. At the AIWC, we’ve been long-time supporters because ESCA CS has helped so many of our members through some of the worst days of their lives.
For several years we participated in the Paddle for Cancer Dragon Boat event. Then COVID hit. Like so many aspects of life, our way of doing things changed.
Paddle for Cancer was cancelled and the Steps for CancerSupport Challenge was born. It’s an easy way for you and your friends to have fun, be competitive (if you want) and join a larger community of people while donating a small amount of money to ESCA CS.
Steps for CancerSupport is a 20-day walking challenge (running and dancing count, too) in which anyone from anywhere in the world can join. Participants subscribe as individuals (CHF 35), teams of up to 10 people (CHF 250), or corporate teams (CHF 1,000). Participants download the Pacer App onto their phones, synch to their smart watches (if they have one), create their public names, setup a WhatsApp group to encourage each other and then start the count down to Day 1.
It is all quite simple. Throughout the day, wherever you are located in the world, your team’s steps are synced, tallied and ranked. These photos give you an idea of how the Pacer App looks and how much time these steps can take.
The AIWC has three different walking groups, so we love this fundraiser. Plus it’s a great way to keep in touch with our friends who have moved away. In 2021 we had the AIWC Five Nations team with steppers located in Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, Switzerland and the USA. The team walked over 4 million steps, or 3,100 kilometers in total.
This year’s Steps for CancerSupport challenge and fundraiser is May 4-23. If you’re interested, you’ve got a bit more than a month to build a team. Or, register as an individual now on ESCA CS’s website. Keep an eye out for the AIWC teams. Let’s see if you can beat us!
If you’d like to learn more about ESCA CS and meet their experts, staff and volunteers in person, register to attend their Open House later this month on Thursday, March 30, 16:00-20:00.
We are a group of international women living in Geneva, Switzerland. If you would like to join the AIWC, please visit our website at http://www.aiwcgeneva.org/
Living In Geneva 