MEDORA – With the advent of HOPE Medora Goes Pink this Saturday, it’s time you knew what got the event rolling. Held every year on the second Saturday of October, the festival happens in the town of Medora, as it has for the last 14 years.
Debra Wayman, founder of the event explained, “I started it after the passing of my mother.”
Debra was very close to her mother and took the hit very hard when she died. “She was my best friend.”
Debra said her mother’s passing initially broke her and kept her from doing things. Typically an active, busy person, she wasn’t able to do what she used to. Grief prevented her, even inflaming her joints, making it difficult to do daily tasks. “It was like a tornado that sucked everything out and left me empty and dark.”
Then one day at church, she met another woman who had also lost her mother. That day in church, God spoke to her. She heard him say, very audibly “Do something.”
While she knew it was Him, since no one else was around her at the communion table, Debra said that at first, she denied it. “I can’t, I’m broken and empty.”
Debra said she could feel his disappointment in her answer, she could sense him. So she said, “You lead and I’ll follow.”
She then saw God’s hands reach out. He offered her a box, and as she reached to take it, he tipped it forward and from the box spilled pieces of a puzzle all over the floor. “It was as if there were puzzle pieces – as if conveying the thought ‘I want you all to put this together.'”
“I knew those pieces were the something, but what was the something? I thought the something must be medical…entertainment, so that families can come together and have a fun day – affordably – and then when death separates others, you’ve got the memories.”
The puzzle pieces were slowly put together, and from it blossomed a world of hope. A dream began with three core ideas: Medical, entertaining, and supportive.
Today, Medora Goes Pink holds several fundraisers throughout the year. The Medora Goes Pink festival is the largest of them, and 100% of the money raised goes directly to support cancer patients and survivors of all kinds.
At one year’s cake sale, a single cake went for $1,500.
Debra Wayman wears pink in honor of her mother’s breast cancer, but the organization is for all types of cancer.
Debra’s daughter Deven Wayman Shirley was “instrumental” in beginning the process. “I do a lot, but I couldn’t have done it without my daughter, she was the brains on the computer… and even though she lived in Malibu California and I live in Indiana, she took the time, and even after having a child, to help and get this started.”
The movement has grown in the 14 years since its founding, and the bright pink love letters sent to those struggling with cancer are now sent to all 50 states. The solid pink envelopes include the love letter, a bookmark printed with a pink bible verse, and $100, whether that’s a gas card or a grocery gift card, for the recipient to use as they see fit.
Memorials from across the US are also often dedicated to Medora’s cause.
Every year, the festival holds a contest similar to a Queen and King pageant, but instead, the winners are elected by donations, and one boy and one girl are named Ambassadors of Hope. The winners serve as ambassadors year-long until the next pair is appointed.
Debra explained the story of four-year-old Jenna Bowers. All of her own volition, Jenna baked and sold cookies and lemonade to raise money for Medora. She turned five shortly before she delivered $25 and some change to Medora Goes Pink. It was inspiring to Debra, to realize that someone so little had such big dreams.
The event features affordable fun for families to make lasting memories, support those fighting cancer, and the chance to make a difference.
Attendance is urged to visit Medora Goes Pink from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 14, for affordable fun, food, prizes, and the chance to change lives for the better.
