UTA Karate Shrewsbury & Delta Honored with Seeds of Hope Award

There are certain events that bring out the best in everyone.

Mark your calendars now for a fun and festive affair that just may bring tears of joy and the sound of laughter.  H.O.P.E. (Help for Oncology Problems & Emotional Support) in New Freedom, Pa., each year recognizes an individual or group for its work to benefit cancer patients and their families. Its 2013 Seeds of Hope Award will be presented on Thursday, May 2, to UTA Karate Shrewsbury and Delta, in honor of its annual board-breaking, high-energy, community-rousing support. For five years running, martial arts enthusiasts have put on quite a show to rouse support of its favorite nonprofit, with donations of support increasing every year.

UTA Karate Shrewsbury & Delta Honored
Karate Shrewsbury & Delta have raised more than $15,000 over the past five years to support the local nonprofit that helps cancer patients and their families. Another break-a-thon is scheduled for Saturday, May 11, at Brown's Orchards Farm Market Pavilion from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

“Martial Arts is a very individual sport,” notes UTA instructor Nancy Webb. “Unlike team sports, you focus on you and your journey, and then apply it to your life. As instructors at UTA Karate Shrewsbury, my husband Chris and I felt that holding a break-a-thon for H.O.P.E. would help teach our students from just 3 years of age all the way to adulthood that we can give back to our community, by working as a team to accomplish a goal. We also found that it illustrated how you can apply martial arts to every aspect of your life, that you can share it with others in a variety of ways, and that martial arts is so much more than kicking and punching!

“It’s been really great for our students to see their hard work go to something that helps so many people suffering with cancer in our little community,” she adds. “And, over the past few years, we have come to find out that H.O.P.E. has provided its services to at least four families within our UTA Karate Shrewsbury family, making the event extra special to us.”

In addition to honoring UTA Karate, the night’s festivities will include a high-flying juggling presentation by cancer survivor and comedian Scott Burton.

An award-winning comic, champion juggler, author, and cancer survivor, Burton recognizes that cancer is actually two diseases - a medical one and an emotional one - and he's fought the battle on both fronts. At the age of 30, he was diagnosed with a high-grade osteo scarcoma above his right knee. Seven months of chemotherapy and a limb-saving cadaverous allograph gave Burton the inspiration to speak to fellow survivors and healthcare professionals.

When Scott Burton tells his story, nobody cries. They laugh like they never thought they would.  Burton's show is not just about cancer. And it's not just about humor. It's about opportunity and recognizing the empowering tools that are available to us all - tools that open the door to not only healing, but loving life. With refreshing honesty, experienced stand-up comedy, and world class juggling, Burton has broken convention by crafting a comedy routine - laced with joy and passion - that is delighting laughter-hungry survivors and healthcare professionals across the country. Audiences quickly learn that his is not simply a story about cancer. It is the story of life - and in every life there is humor and joy to embrace.

Award-winning comic and juggler
An award-winning comic and world champion juggler who has worked with Jay Leno and Louie Anderson, Burton has also written for prime-time television. He has spoken for medical symposiums, fundraisers, and survivor programs throughout the country, including the Oncology Nursing Society's National Congress (twice), MD Anderson's Patient Conference, Virtua Health Foundation's 10th Anniversary Howard S. Fiala Lecture Series, and The Network for Oncology Research and Communication, as well as multiple American Cancer Society functions and Survivor Day events. For nurses and medical conferences, Burton's show is available for CEUs and is a powerful statement on the perspective of the patient, plus a call for passion on the job. It offers first rate entertainment in a credited educational program!

Author of humorous book on cancer survival
Burton is author of A Life in the Balance, a refreshingly honest, funny, and inspirational book about surviving cancer as told through the eyes of this stand-up comic. He has written several articles that have appeared in Coping magazine, MGI Pharma's Comfort Zone, as well as The Minneapolis StarTribune. Burton has been selected as a contributor to the next printing of Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul.

Burton's unique fusion of stand-up comedy, world-class juggling, and profound cancer stories makes for one of the most unusual, energetic, and inspiring talks available to healthcare professionals and survivors alike.

“This year’s VFH event promises to be outstanding evening,” says H.O.P.E.’s Executive Director Barb Titanish. “I am thrilled that we are honoring UTA Karate this year. As members of the local community, Nancy, Chris and the students have been tireless in their support of H.O.P.E.  What could be more inspiring than seeing these children, some of them as young as 4 years of age, give back to the cancer patients and their families in this community.”

Tickets, $50, are available through April 12. For more information, contact 717-993-3778 or email mcauliffeh@comcast.net. The event includes a sit-down dinner, a silent auction, a keynote speaker and presentation of H.O.P.E.’s 2013 Seeds of Hope Award.

H.O.P.E. was founded in 1994 to help cancer patients and their families and runs almost exclusively through volunteer efforts and community contributions. The non-profit helps hundreds each year with meals, transportation assistance and a varied assortment of requests for help with day-to-day life. The organization provides:

·         educational resources, counseling services and a variety of support groups

·         recreational activities for children diagnosed with or impacted by cancer

·         a network of social support and tender loving care

·         transportation to and from doctor’s appointments

·         wigs, hats, scarves and turbans to women undergoing chemotherapy

·         home-cooked meals, gas cards and local discounts

To learn more about H.O.P.E. visit www.hopeforcancerfamilies.org. For more information or to purchase tickets to the Voices for Hope event, contact 717-993-3778.