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Dallas Stars President James R. Lites and Medical City Dallas Hospital Vice President - Strategic Development Carol Ansley Named Corporate Chairs for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walks

Posted on: Monday, 10 July 2006, 09:01 CDT

DALLAS, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society named Dallas Stars President Jim Lites and Medical City Dallas Hospital Vice President of Strategic Development Carol Ansley corporate co-chairs of its annual Light The Night(R) Walks. The Society's annual fundraising walks are held nationwide in the fall to raise funds for cancer research and patient services. The 2006 North Texas Walks are expected to raise approximately $1 million in support of the Society's mission. Five metro-area Walks will take place in September and October.

Light The Night Walk events across the country and Canada feature participants carrying illuminated balloons - white for survivors, red for supporters - to raise awareness and funds to advance the Society's mission and show the world that they are relentless in pursuit of a cure for blood cancers.

"Light The Night is a celebration of life and survivorship, and a meaningful way to honor lives lost to blood cancer," said Lites. "The event is a great way to build a spirit of caring and cooperation among employees as they help others, and I am honored to serve as chair and to encourage commitment from local businesses and corporations. We are taking strides to save lives."

Lites pointed out that survival rates for some forms of blood cancer have improved dramatically over past decades - up to 86 percent in some cases - but still, too many patients are dying. Leukemia is the leading cause of cancer- related death among children under the age of 20, and more than 22,000 people died from leukemia in 2005.

"Every five minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer; every 10 minutes someone dies from these diseases," Ansley said. "More than 54,000 people died of these diseases last year, and that is far too many. The Light The Night campaign helps bring hope to thousands of patients and their families."

To initiate the corporate portion of the 2006 Light The Night campaign, Lites and Ansley will co-host a Corporate Breakfast to be presented by Holt Lunsford Commercial on Thursday, July 13, 2006, from 7:00 to 8:30 am at the Dallas Marriott Quorum Hotel. Local business leaders are invited to attend the breakfast to learn more about Light The Night and how to involve their organizations in the program.

In addition to co-hosting the 2006 Corporate Breakfast, both the Dallas Stars and Medical City Dallas Hospital will be involved with the 2006 Light The Night Walk campaign in the fall. Both organizations will form corporate Walk teams consisting of employees and their friends and family members. Medical City Dallas Hospital has named Light The Night the beneficiary of their annual hospital-wide fundraising campaign, setting a goal to raise at least $65,000 in support of the Society's mission. Both the Dallas Stars and Medical City Dallas Hospital serve as corporate sponsors of Light The Night 2006.

To find out more about the 2006 Corporate Breakfast, or to learn more about the Light The Night Walks in your area, contact the North Texas chapter at 972.354.8300, or visit http://www.lightthenight.org/NTX .

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society(R), headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 66 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The Society's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has invested more than $424 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, the Society made 2.5 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals. For more information about blood cancer, visit http://www.lls.org/ or call the Society's Information Resource Center (IRC), a call center staffed by master's level social workers, nurses and health educators who provide information, support and resources to patients and their families and caregivers. IRC information specialists are available at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

About the Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars Hockey Club is a member of the National Hockey League, playing its home games at American Airlines Center. Formerly known as the Minnesota North Stars, the team moved to Dallas in 1993 and quickly established a grassroots hockey program at the youth level to help grow interest in the sport. Since then, the North Texas area has seen its high school hockey teams grow from zero to 75 and number of kids playing hockey grow from 200 to more than 5,400. While the sport was growing in popularity in the community, the Dallas Stars built a tradition of winning that continues today. The club has won seven division titles, two conference crowns, two Presidents' Trophies for best record in the NHL, and a Stanley Cup as league champions in 1999.

About Medical City Dallas Hospital

Medical City, which has been designated as a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, is a 660-bed tertiary medical center that includes Medical City Children's Hospital. Many of Medical City's programs have received national and international recognition, including cardiovascular, craniofacial, oncology, pediatric and transplant services. Medical City ranked 15th out of the 50 "Best Places to Work" in Texas in a list published by Texas by Texas Monthly magazine and the "Best Place to Work" in Dallas in 2004 by the Dallas Business Journal. Dallas Mayor Laura Miller recognized the hospital in 2003 for its history of providing medical care for people in need and for dedicating extensive resources to the betterment of the community. Learn more at http://www.medicalcityhospital.com/ .

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

CONTACT: Joni Hart, Campaign Manager of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,+1-972-354-8313, or HartJ@lls.org

Web site: http://www.lightthenight.org/NTXhttp://www.medicalcityhospital.com/http://www.lls.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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