New Slate of Superheroes Community Service Projects Lets Dragon Con Fans Lend a Hand
ATLANTA
– January 12, 2015 – Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop
culture, fantasy and sci-fi convention, has selected the Lymphoma
Research Foundation – Georgia Market as its official charity for 2015.
Dragon Con will match dollar for dollar, up to $50,000, any money raised
for this charity at the 2015 convention.
Dragon
Con also announced its slate of Superheroes community service projects
for Dragon Con members and fans in the Atlanta area. This program is now
in its second year.
In 2014, the convention
raised over $115,000 for its official charity, the Atlanta Community
Food Bank, and collected 535 pounds of food. Through the Superheroes
program, Dragon Con fans contributed more than 900 hours of community
service.
“Selecting the Lymphoma Research
Foundation as our official charity this year was a very personal
choice,” said Rachel Reeves, convention co-chair. “We are grateful that
organizations such as this are working hard to improve treatments and
cures for this devastating disease.”
Two long-time members of
the Dragon Con family – Eugie Foster, Director of the Daily Dragon, and
Mark Brown, Co-Director of Convention Operations – recently died from
lymphoma, while a third member is currently battling it.
Lymphoma
is a group of blood cancers, most notably non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which
accounts for about 90 percent of cases. Other types include Hodgkin
lymphoma, myeloma and immunoproliferative diseases. Over half a million
people are currently living with lymphoma in the United States – the
most common blood cancer in adults and the third most common cancer over
all among children.
Three Superhero projects
are currently planned for the spring and summer of 2015. In addition to
having a great time, people who participate in any of these service
projects will be invited to an exclusive celebration during this year’s
convention and will receive a Superheroes t-shirt.
“We
had a great time last year, getting together as fans and volunteers, to
do something good and make a difference in our community,” Reeves said.
“Donations are always important, but there are plenty of organizations
that also need volunteers to carry out their mission.”
The
first Superheroes project will see a return to the Atlanta Community
Food Bank partnership, with a half-day of work in an ACFB supported
community garden on March 21st.
Community
gardens act as a powerful tool for social change by providing
neighborhoods with fresh vegetables, attractive landscapes, and place to
meet and work towards positive goals. Volunteers help with weeding,
seeding, planting, tilling, cleaning, clearing, and any other activity
that can possibly take place in a garden.
For
the second project, Dragon Con will field a team of volunteers to raise
money and participate in the annual Lymphoma Walk, supporting the
Lymphoma Research Foundation, on April 11th at Wesleyan School in
Norcross. In addition to the walk team, the Superheroes will have other
opportunities to volunteer at the walk – possibilities include
registration, t-shirt table, set up/clean up, and route cheerleaders.
A third project is in the works, and details will be announced when they are confirmed.
About Dragon Con
Dragon
Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor
Day Weekend in Atlanta (Sept. 4 – 7, 2015). Organized for fans, Dragon
Con features more than about 3,000 hours of comics, film, television,
costuming, art, music and gaming over four days. For more information,
please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
For more information on the Lymphoma Research Foundation, please visit www.lymphoma.org.
For more information on Atlanta Community Food Bank, please visit www.acfb.org.
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