Turlock, After raising funds for six weeks every year, over the past three years, Legacy Circle of Emanuel Medical Center has surpassed its $4 million goal to fully fund the Emanuel Cancer Endowment by raising $4,360,760.

The Emanuel Cancer Endowment is a permanent fund that will generate a quarter of a million dollars annually for regional cancer services. The final year of fundraising efforts concluded yesterday with employee and community Legacy Circle members turning in the last of their annual pledge cards

Legacy Circle, Emanuel Medical Center's annual giving program, initiated the $4 million fundraising effort in 2007, trusting the community and its members were fit for the task. The campaign was tagged as "The Need. The Vision. The Cure."

The $4 million goal was achieved in part by the Ahlem family's $1 million matching gift announced earlier this year. This matching gift coupled with an additional $400,000 anonymous gift quickly took Legacy Circle to the top of its overall goal.

"For me, the best service the Endowment will provide is screening services for early detection" said Legacy Circle Employee Fund Drive Team Owner and Director of Oncology at Emanuel Beth Adams. "Cancer should be a chronic disease, not a deadly one. It should be something you live with instead of something you die from."

The Emanuel Cancer Endowment will fund services such as: outreach and prevention, early detection, screenings, support groups, genetic risk assessment, counseling and testing, clinical research, and participation in national clinical trials.

"I love Turlock," said Employee Team Owner and Director of Physical Rehabilitation Kristen Cederlind. "I have been a donor of Legacy Circle since it began, but this year I couldn't come up with any valid reasons for not becoming more involved. To be part of this community process has been fun and I'm one of the lucky ones who gets to see the direct results from patients who are positively effected by its commitment to the cause."

In addition to the 1,200 employee and community pledge cards turned in over the past weeks, Emanuel Medical Center's Volunteer Auxiliary presented a $100,000 gift to Legacy Circle for the Endowment.

The Volunteer Auxiliary is comprised of 800 volunteers who donate over 67,000 hours of service annually to the hospital. The group has given nearly $1.5 million dollars to Legacy Circle's fundraising efforts since 1999. This year's gift to Legacy Circle was funded by Emanuel's gift shop, which is managed by the group of volunteers and Life Line, an emergency response service for seniors.

"The past three years of fundraising efforts has not been about bricks and cement," said Community Fund Drive Chair Bill Gibbs. "It has been about people. And that's what the Emanuel Cancer Endowment is for, the people of our community."

"Surpassing the $4 million goal for the Emanuel Cancer Endowment is leaving a legacy for the present and future generations that will last forever," said Chief Executive Officer of Emanuel Medical Center John Sigsbury. "Today is a historic day for Legacy Circle and it would not have been possible without each and every one of our volunteers and members."

For more information about Legacy Circle or the Emanuel Cancer Endowment, contact the Office of Development at (209) 664-5180. For more information about Emanuel Medical Center, visit www.emanuelmedicalcenter.org.