Special to the Reporter

In the spirit of giving back, more than 70 mother and daughter volunteers from the National Charity League (NCL) Evergreen Chapter of Mercer Island came out this fall in support of the 2nd Annual Seattle Walk to End Colon Cancer, an event started by Brianna Mercker, a stage IV colon cancer survivor, to raise money for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.

At the event in Gas Works Park, volunteers met with survivors, handed out T-shirts, provided fresh water and snacks to the more than 1,000 walkers, ran the photo booth and held space for heartbreaking and inspirational stories from attendees.

Tasha Brown, NCL liaison for the event, shared that the event was an overall success, raising nearly $200,000 for the nonprofit, building greater awareness and visibility about the disease, and hopefully inspiring more people to get early screenings.

“This is such an important event for NCL to be a part of and I am overwhelmed — but not surprised — by the incredible involvement of our chapter. Service to the community is one of the cornerstones of the NCL experience and it’s amazing to see it in action at such a significant level,” Brown said.

The Evergreen NCL chapter is a group of Island mothers and daughters, in grades 7–12, who have come together in a commitment to community service, leadership development, and cultural experiences. The chapter holds an annual membership drive in the winter/spring season. More information can be found at: https://www.nationalcharityleague.org/chapter/evergreen/