American Cancer Society honors cancer survivor with national volunteer award

The American Cancer Society honored Terese Flaherty of Sudbury with a Sandra C. Labaree Volunteer Values Award for the New England Division of the American Cancer Society. The award is the most honored accolade by the Society, and it recognizes Flaherty’s remarkable accomplishments in support of its mission to celebrate lives, to save lives and to lead the fight for a world without cancer.

Flaherty, a three-time cancer survivor, is this year’s Relay For Life of Lincoln Sudbury Event Leadership Team Survivorship Subcommittee Leader and has volunteered for the Society for the past five years. Two years ago, Flaherty took on the task to recruit more cancer survivors to participate in the event to support the Society’s mission to celebrate lives touched by cancer. Since then, the majority of new survivors registering for the event have been asked by Flaherty and made connections with her personal touch.

A volunteer with several community groups, Flaherty also works as a teaching assistant for youth with special needs. Her own Relay For Life team has raised more than $41,000 for the cause during the past two years, and she is known to all for her positive and caring attitude.

“Terese embodies the work of the American Cancer Society, but moreso she cares deeply about people,” said Brian Shea, community manager with the American Cancer Society. “She is an amazing mentor for our student members of the Event Leadership Team, and she is a resource and an inspiration for other cancer survivors in the community. Terese works tirelessly to provide support, resources and hope for other people affected by cancer.”

The Sandra C. Labaree Volunteer Values Award is named in honor of the late Sandra C. Labaree, a long-time American Cancer Society volunteer from Maine. Despite her death from breast cancer in 2000, Labaree’s spirit and values live on through this award. Each year, the New England Division Board of Directors selects the most inspired and passionate individuals to receive this prestigious honor whose service best exemplifies the Society’s organizational values of mission, stewardship, diversity, data-driven, and respect.

For more information on how to become a volunteer for the American Cancer Society or about the Society’s programs and services, please visit www.Cancer.org or call 800-227-2345.

About The American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 2 million volunteers saving lives in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 25 percent decline in the cancer death rate in the U.S. since 1991, driven by less smoking, better treatments, and earlier detection. We're finding cures as the nation's largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at (800) 227-2345 or visit Cancer.org.