Meet New Co-Chair for Stewart's Caring Place's Hope Walk

Stewart's Caring Place: Cancer Wellness Center's 7th Annual Hope Walk will take place on Saturday, May 11 at Fairlawn Community Center, located at 3486 S. Smith Road in Fairlawn. The walk helps Stewart's offer its support services and programs free-of-charge to individuals and families touched by cancer.

New to the planning committee this year, is event co-chair Elizabeth Banasiak. She is working alongside returning chair of three years Sally Oneacre. Banasiak plans to serve as a co-chair for next year too.

She currently attends The University of Akron for Business and Organizational Communication with a minor in Consumer Marketing and will graduate in 2014. After graduation Banasiak plans to go into non-profit fundraising and development.

Get to know Liz:

1. How long have you been volunteering with Stewart's?
"I have been volunteering since 2006. I help with special events and fundraising. Past Director Sarah Tower got me involved with The Hope Walk and I’ve volunteered at the event ever since. I’m excited and honored to be co-chairing with Sally Oneacre this year."

2. Three things brought me to Stewart’s:

• I interned for Rhonda Wise at the United Way and she thought Stewart’s Caring Place would be an enjoyable volunteering opportunity for me. She was right!

• My mother. She volunteers at Stewart’s and is a member of WITAN, which helped Stewart’s when it first started. I also joined WITAN this year.

• I love volunteering and being of service to others. Helping others really brings me great joy

3. What's your favorite aspect of your volunteer work at SCP?
"Seeing how many cancer survivors there are and what Stewart’s has been able to do for them and their families. I’m truly inspired by the participants here and their stories of strength and perseverance. I’m also grateful for the relationships I have formed with volunteers and the staff. All the people at Stewart’s are really wonderful. Being on committees for special events and fundraising has opened my eyes to how much people are willing to give of their time and the amount of effort and dedication it takes to make these things possible."

To register for the event, visit Stewart's website! For sponsorship inquiries, contact Events Coordinator Raven DeVoll at Events@StewartsCaringPlace.org or 330.836.1772.