For the Telegraph
The Alton Telegraph
GODFREY – Pride Inc.’s annual meeting and dinner honoring local beautification efforts will take place in the coming month. The nonprofit organization will celebrate its 46th year of making the River Bend a more attractive place to live and work at the event scheduled for Thursday, March 8, in the Commons at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey.
Cocktails will be served at 5:30 p.m., with dinner following at 6:30 p.m.
“This has been a great year for Pride,” said Donna Bemis, the organization’s president. “Our members and volunteers have worked hard to continue to make the River Bend the best community we can be.”
Pride will present The Firm with the 2012 Outstanding Citizen award. After relocating to Alton in 2011, the firm has continued its efforts to reach out to the community.
The Firm helped raise more than $67,000 for Step-Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes. The record results placed this fund-raiser among the most successful in the nation for the American Diabetes Association walks.
The Firm held its third annual 5K run-walk to benefit mesothelioma cancer research in 2011. All the money raised from the event benefits the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a goal of curing the disease, a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. The first two Miles for Meso events raised more than $55,000 and inspired mesothelioma victims across the country to contact the Simmons firm and ask to hold their own events, which have raised nearly $100,000 more for cancer research.
Employees at The Firm are also encouraged to get involved. In 2011, they delivered nearly 40,000 pounds of food and personal hygiene items to Madison County area pantries. The 20-ton effort was a result of the fifth annual Simmons Employee Foundation Food Drive.
Tickets cost $50 per person and can be obtained through the Pride Inc. office. For more information, contact Lee McRaven at (618) 467-2375, email
[email protected], or visit www.prideincorporated.org.
