THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601300154
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
The People for Mary W. Wells, a group of county citizens who have come together to help Wells pay medical expenses for a recent bone-marrow transplant, will hold a benefit dinner Friday, March 8, at Smithfield High School.
Wells is a retired Isle of Wight Extension Service agent who served the area as a home economist for 34 years.
``She has touched the lives of many people in Isle of Wight County and now needs a touch of love from the people,'' says Evelyn Chandler, one of the citizens leading the fund-raising effort.
Wells has been hospitalized at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond since Dec. 18 after undergoing the transplant Dec. 27. The cost of the procedure, still considered experimental by some insurance companies, is likely to be between $85,000 and $100,000.
The People for Mary Wells' benefit banquet ``promises to be an elegant evening with superb entertainment,'' Chandler says. Her group is mailing letters requesting support from the business community.
``We hope that all will open their hearts and support this humanitarian effort for one of our own people.''
The core committee working on the benefit includes Chandler, Linda Bean, James B. Chapman, Edna B. King, Jean V. Helms, Beryl H. Perry, Herbert W. DeGroft, the Rev. Vincent L. Thomas, Ruth Fields, Thelma Wilkerson-Hill, Sarah H. Walden, Joris W. Bradby and Denise N. Tynes.
Anyone wishing to support the fund-raising effort can contact Chandler at 238-2842. For more information on participating, call Chandler or address correspondence to her at 9 St. Catherine Drive, Carrollton, Va. 23314-3105.
Individual tickets for the dinner are $25.
KEYWORDS: TRANSPLANT FUND-RAISER by CNB