Gallery School Needs Your Vote for Livestrong Project Contest

POTTSTOWN -- Voting began yesterday in a contest to help find and fund programs that support families fighting cancer.

And the Gallery School, at Gallery on High, in partnership with Pottstown Memorial Medical Center/Fox Chase Regional Cancer Center is among the national candidates.

The LIVESTRONG® Community Impact Project was created to bring proven cancer support programs to communities across the United States.

Finalists will be determined through an online voting campaign that begins on Wed., Mar. 7 at 10 a.m. Applicants with the top votes per region will receive a financial award of support to replicate and implement a sustainable program dedicated to supporting families fighting cancer.

Finalists will also receive tools and resources from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the organization established in 1997 by the cancer survivor and champion cyclist to serve people living with cancer and empower communities to take action against the world’s leading cause of death.

“We are thrilled and honored to be selected as a candidate for the Community Impact Project,” said Erika Hornberg-Cooper, executive director of the Gallery School of Pottstown.

“We share LIVESTRONG’s passion for inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer and look forward to working together to make a difference in the lives of cancer survivors and their families,” she said.


If selected, The Gallery School of Pottstown in partnership with the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center/Fox Chase Regional Cancer Center will use the awarded funds to expand on the Healing Arts program that is currently offered to cancer patients at the hospital.

In 2010, The Hill School Philanthropy Council provided a $2,100 grant to the Gallery School's Healing Arts program. Pictured above presenting the check are, from left: Erika Hornburg-Cooper, executive director of the Gallery School; Peter Bachich, Hill School Class of 2010, vice-president of the Student Philanthropy Council; Cathy Paretti, director of the Gallery on High; and Greta Witter, Hill School Class of 2010, president of the Student Philanthropy Council.

The Healing Arts program’s focus is on using different art modalities, group discussions, and workshops that utilize mental, physical, and creative exercises to explore the person the patients want to be or used to be in the context of cancer diagnosis and recovery. If awarded the funds we will be able to expand on patient perceptions of well being and lift their spirits, whereby making treatment outcomes more successful.

Click here to cast your vote for the joint Gallery/PMMC/Fox Chase project.


The 2012 Community Impact Project will offer nearly $1.4 million in implementation awards to 90 finalists. This represents the largest number of financial awards LIVESTRONG has granted in a single year in the history of the foundation.

Pottstown Memorial Medical Center

Hundreds of qualified hospitals, cancer centers, universities and non-profits from across the United States applied to be part of four different programs:

 * The Creative Center – Hospital Artist-in-Residence Program: Since its inception in 1994, The Creative Center has been dedicated to bringing the arts to people with cancer and chronic illness through all stages of life as a way to help them discover their own creative resources while meeting the challenges of diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. The Artist-in-Residence program helps cancer survivors deal with the stresses of treatment through artistic expression. The program will work bedside and in small group settings with men, women and children – in oncology units, bone marrow transplant units, intensive care/respiratory units, hospice and palliative care programs.

* LIVESTRONG at the YMCA: LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a research-based program that offers people affected by cancer a safe, supportive environment to participate in physical and social activities focused on strengthening the whole person. Participants work with Y staff trained in supportive cancer care to achieve their goals such as building muscle mass and strength; increasing flexibility and endurance; and improving confidence and self-esteem.

* Advanced Certification for Palliative Care: The Joint Commission’s Advanced Certification for Palliative Care is designed to set standards and acknowledge hospitals providing state-of-the-art palliative care services that relieve symptoms and stress of serious illness and improve quality of life for patients. The Center to Advance Palliative Care will provide tools and training to 20 hospitals and cancer centers across the country to assist in their efforts to qualify for the Certification.

* Pillars4Life: Pillars4Life is a patient/caregiver support program that has been proven to enhance quality of life for cancer patients and allows hospitals and their social workers to more efficiently triage and attend to the psychosocial needs of a much greater number of patients.

 LIVESTRONG is committed to supporting community organizations in their efforts to help cancer survivors face the challenges and changes that come with cancer and has invested more than $70 million in community-centered organizations.

Voting ends on March 232 at 5 p.m. 

For more information about the LIVESTRONG Community Impact Project and to vote, visit http://vote.livestrong.org/. 

For more information about The Gallery School of Pottstown visit http://www.galleryonhigh.com or about the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center/Fox Chase Regional Cancer Center visit http://www.pottstownmemorial.com.

About the Gallery School of Pottstown is a non-profit community art center. Its mission is to provide a solid educational foundation to youth and adults alike, regardless of income level. The school helps students foster their creativity and develop their talents both for personal enrichment and as a foundation for advanced studies in the arts.

The mission of the Gallery School of Pottstown is to enrich the lives of the residents in the greater Pottstown area through the visual arts, regardless of ethnicity and economic situations. Our goal is to spark creativity, build self-confidence and develop community bonds through education, mentoring and community service.

About LIVESTRONG/Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG serves people affected by cancer and empowers them to take action against the world's leading cause of death. 

Created as the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, LIVESTRONGis known for its iconic yellow wristband and is a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. 

 Since its inception, the organization has raised $450 million for the fight against cancer. For more information, visit LIVESTRONG.org.