September 6th, 3-7pm
Maywood Baptist Church
Benefit Fundraiser for Nick Marcum
....................................
I (Raychel) am writing this today with a mix of great love, deep concern, and expectant hope despite the
discouraging circumstances my family currently faces. As many of you know, and for those that do not,
my husband Nick Marcum was diagnosed with stage 3 colo/rectal cancer in February. Initially when we
were discussing my husband’s diagnosis with his team of doctors we were told to be optimistic. We were
told that because of his young age (45), his lack of symptoms (it was found during a routine screening),
and how his type of cancer (adenocarcinoma) typically responds to treatment we should expect highly
favorable results from chemo.
Unfortunately though, the initial rounds of chemo did not produce the kinds of results the doctors
were hopeful for and his tumor did not shrink as expected. His cancer has now been labeled as
"aggressive" and more intense treatments are being recommended. Although his cancer may be tough;
we intend to show it that he is tougher. We are now exploring all treatment options from traditional
approaches to non-traditional approaches, many of which are not typically covered by insurance.
We have had many offers over the preceding months for all kinds of help, and while we haven’t
been in the position of needing much up to this point, now is the time that we are asking for your support.
Some close friends, family members, and I are going to host a benefit fundraiser for Nick on September
6th from 3pm-7pm at Maywood Baptist Church where I am the Family Minister. I am asking everyone who
loves Nick, anyone in our family, or anyone who just wants to help out a brother in Christ to show up and
support him in his fight.
We are seeking to raise $17,000 through this fundraiser. These funds would go directly towards
the fight for Nick's life. Every dollar raised would help cover the bills that have already accumulated, go
towards the out-of-pocket alternative treatments, and towards second opinions that we may need to travel
to other places for. I am not just asking for your direct monetary donations though, I am asking you to
donate anything that could be valuable for hosting this fundraiser.
We plan to have a silent auction, a raffle for non-monetary items like goodie baskets, and a bake
sale. We also would like to have music, food, games and lots of fun because I want it to be a celebration
of all things good and right with the world; the love we share, good food shared among good friends, and
memories that we can cherish forever. And with Nick being the music lover that he is- we need a good
soundtrack to party to of course!
If you have anything you can donate towards this fundraiser like services, products, food, or other
resources that might be helpful please contact me or Scott Stoner.
If you know anyone (DJ’s/musicians,
caterers, people with event equipment, etc) please pass this on to them. If you would like to be part of the
bake sale by baking a treat to be sold or if you (or you and a few people you know) are able to put
together a raffle basket, please let us know. If you would like to make a donation, please contact the
Maywood Office. We will also have ways to donate at the event. If you can't help in any of the above
ways but can lend your time, we will definitely need help with set up and tear down before and after the
event.
My deepest desire for this event as Nick’s wife is to show him how loved he is and to celebrate
him. My hope is to alleviate some of the burden of figuring out how he will financially face this giant so he
can instead focus solely on getting better. My desire is that we can all show up, show out, and show him
that we are all behind him in this fight and that he isn’t fighting alone. I invite you to join us in it!
Thank you for your love, consideration, prayers, and unconditional support,
Raychel Gentry-Marcum
816-820-8882 /
cmF5Y2hlbCB8IG1heXdvb2RiYXB0aXN0ICEgb3Jn
Scott Stoner (816)739-6674
Also check out other Nonprofit events in Independence, Music events in Independence, Entertainment events in Independence.
