As La Fiesta de los Vaqueros celebrates its centennial, the legendary outdoor rodeo is spurring appreciation of rodeo history and lassoing support for cancer survivors through Tucson Chicks n Chaps.
“Tucson rodeo is an icon in the community and across the country, and our Chicks n Chaps event is centered around giving folks a glimpse into 100 years of rodeo history while simultaneously raising money for women and men battling breast cancer,” said Courtney Slanaker, chair of the 12th Annual Tucson Chicks n Chaps.
The rodeo clinic fundraiser, which benefits the Arizona Foundation for Cancer, will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds, 4823 S. 6th Ave. Since inception, the unique event has raised more than $129,000 for local cancer support programs.
“We would really like to raise $30,000. In the fundraising world, we try to outpace inflation. For patients who have to pay more for treatments, integrative therapies, co-pays, gas and everything else, it is our job to raise more money so they don’t have to worry about those things,” Slanaker said.
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Arizona Foundation for Cancer (formerly Arizona Oncology Foundation) provides cancer support programs and services — ranging from wigs, head coverings, prosthesis bras and breast forms to gas cards a wide range of integrative therapies — to residents of Arizona whose lives have been affected by any type of cancer.
“Cancer is such a financial burden and many people don’t realize it until they are knee deep in the middle of it with co-pays and missing work for appointments and treatments,” said Wendy Capullo, Executive Director for the the foundation.
She said that one of the nonprofit’s largest initiatives provides gas cards for patients who travel 20 miles or more one way for treatments.
“We have lots of patients who live 80 miles away or more and have to come to Tucson five days a week for radiation,” Capullo said.
The foundation also tries to alleviate expenses such as wigs, which cost an average of $380 each; and breast prostheses, which cost about $500 each (or $1,000 for patients who have bilateral mastectomies). Capullo said that prostheses are sometimes partially covered by insurance — or may not be covered at all — and are provided free of charge by the foundation.
“When you hear the word ‘cancer,’ you think of chemo and radiation, but there is a whole other side, and that is the emotional side. Cancer is bad enough, but for women who have mastectomies or lose all their hair, it is very traumatic. We offer a place that is very private and have lots of wigs to choose from and we try to make it fun. We say, ‘We work for smiles’ and we get lots of them,” Capullo said.
Emotional and physical needs are also addressed through the foundation’s offering of integrative therapies such as acupuncture, reflexology, relaxation, reiki and massage therapies including manual lymph drainage. Other programs include housecleaning services for post-surgical patients, support groups, and one-on-one nutrition counseling.
“We offer a whole gamut of programs and services that help with healing from within and all of them are free. We are trying to get people through this journey they have to travel and help them out the other side to survivorship,” Capullo said.
She emphasized that the foundation runs strictly on donations and credits individuals, businesses, corporations and organizations such as Chicks n Chaps with making their services possible.
“For many people, the fact that we provide these services for free is one less thing they need to worry about … they say wigs, head coverings, prostheses and other services make them feel ‘normal’ and it brings them to tears,” Capullo said.
Volunteers such as Debbie Barnett, who founded Tucson Chicks N Chaps with Eileen Geraghty, are proud that 100 percent of the funds donated through the event benefit patient services locally.
“Every dollar we donate to the Arizona Foundation for Cancer goes to patient care. That is the reason we started this and the reason we have continued with it. I always call it the Tucson Rodeo’s breast cancer initiative: It shows that the Tucson Rodeo cares about southern Arizona and the men and women who are fighting this horrible disease,” Barnett said.
A former chairwoman of La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo, Barnett is proud to highlight the initiative while showcasing the cultural traditions that the rodeo represents.
“I always say Chicks n Chaps is a great way to learn about these human and animal athletes, to dispel myths about rodeo and to understand why the sport of rodeo has been here for 100 years,” Barnett said.
