Summer 2018
The GCMSA in partnership with Alliance member and author, Stephanie Morgan, donated the funds toward the publishing of a book honoring the legacy of former Alliance member, Lindsey Motley entitled “Sunshine for the Soul— Inspirational Thoughts from Life with Lindsey Bates Motley”.
Motley was just 26 and pregnant with her first and only child, Lilla, when she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. To raise awareness that young people can get colon cancer, too, Lindsey volunteered with The Colon Club, a group for young colon cancer survivors, appearing as Miss March in their annual Colondar, a magazine-calendar featuring stories of young survivors. Lindsey’s father, Tom Bates, was instrumental in the building of the Cancer Survivors Park in downtown Greenville. According to Bates, the park is a place of “celebration for those who are here fighting, those connected to those fighting ...and for those who are left to celebrate loved ones gone. Our hope is it will encourage and bring hope to others — no matter their journey.”
Lindsey passed away on Feb. 24, 2016, just three weeks after her 29th birthday. Scores of people turned out for a memorial to honor her at the park, which was illuminated by hundreds of glowing candles.
Stephanie pulled from words that Motley had written, from scripture and poetry, and from the Caring Bridge posts used to update readers about her condition for the book. “Sunshine for the Soul” is available for $20 at Cancer Survivors Park, Paisley and Paper in Greenville, and from the Cancer Survivors Park Alliance website. All proceeds from the book go to the Cancer Survivors Park Alliance in Motley's memory, where “Lindsey’s Leap of Faith Overlook” now resides.
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