Peter Emanuel, M.D., and Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D., accept the donation from Inez Barnes, Donna Shields and Bernice Nelms.

Dec. 2, 2008 | The women of Ashley County are making a difference in the fight against breast cancer.
 
For the fourth year in a row, members of the organization Ashley County Cares made the two-hour trip to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) with a check designated for breast cancer education and screenings. The $28,000 donation will be used by the Cancer Control Program at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

The group conducts several fundraising events throughout the year, including the annual dinner and auction, which raised $11,000. The remainder of the donation was raised at events including the Armadillo Festival, the Hamburg and Crossett rodeos, Wiggins Cabin, the Outlaw Trail Ride, the Portland Rummage Sale and Hamburg Holidays.

 “We are honored to receive this donation each year from the ladies of Ashley County. They have made a big impact in their community and their donations have helped us reach hundreds of Arkansas women,” said Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D., director of Cancer Control and professor of surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine. In 2007, the group’s donation of $26,000 was used in part to provide 323 mammograms for uninsured and low-income women in the state.