When she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, Stacy Hughes largely kept the information to herself. But with the small circle of close friends and coworkers who knew about her health, she raised $800 for the Susan G. Komen Georgia More Than Pink Walk that year.
“I decided to do it at the last minute,” she said. “My daughter walked with me, and it was a very inspiring and moving experience to walk with other survivors and share stories.”
In 2018, Hughes met Komen’s CEO who challenged her to do more.
“I think meeting her was a sign,” she said. “I knew it would mean going public in a big way, but I decided to do it.”
The chief information security officer for Global Payments in Buckhead started by asking her company to form a team. The firm agreed, and Hughes walked around to different offices and sat outside the cafeteria to encourage people to join or donate if they didn’t want to walk.
“I was hoping for 50 people, and I got about 125 to sign up,” she said. “The following year, we sponsored another team of about 260. They have been so supportive of me during my cancer journey and beyond.”
Last year, Global Payments became the walk’s presenting sponsor, providing funding that supports Komen’s mission of research and educational awareness that Hughes can’t emphasize strongly enough.
“A lot of women during the pandemic were delaying their screenings,” said Hughes, who is now cancer-free. “I was diagnosed through my annual mammogram. They’re so important.”
Since getting involved with Komen four years ago, Hughes has become one of More Than Pink’s biggest fundraisers. For the 2020 virtual walk, she collected nearly $50,000 – an 25% increase over her 2019 efforts that made the Global Payment team the fundraising leaders. She’s also recruited about 500 team members across 26 states, as well as India and Malaysia.
“We’re in it to end it,” she said. “That’s our slogan at Global Payments. I made it through my journey because of my family there, and they continue to support me even to this day.”
Who’s doing good? Each week, we write about a deserving individual, charity events such as fun-runs, volunteer projects and other community gatherings that benefit a good cause. To suggest an event or person for us to cover, contact us at ajc.doinggood@gmail.com.
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