Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., will host the 2016 Courage to Climb concert on Saturday, Aug. 13, at 7 p.m. in the high school’s Erne Auditorium.

The annual benefit concert, now in its seventh year, honors Columbus North choir director and cancer survivor Janie Gordon. Tickets are $15 at the door. Proceeds from the concert will benefit Hoosier Cancer Research Network, a nonprofit clinical research organization in Indianapolis.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, Gordon broke the news to her students during rehearsal for their summer musical production. Despite their shock, three students wanted to do something to help. They secretly planned a concert in honor of Gordon and named the event “Courage to Climb,” based on a motto Gordon had adopted for her battle against cancer.

Gordon was just beginning chemotherapy when the concert was held. She recalls her initial reaction when she walked in and saw the auditorium decorated in pink.

“When you go through it, it’s almost like you don’t want to see anything pink – you’re mad,” she said. “But I was really overwhelmed, and what took over then was the gratitude and appreciation that they did this.”

[Photo: Janie Gordon and Courage to Climb 2016 student coordinators Sarah Pankratz and Caleb Bray.]

Gordon quickly became known throughout the community as an advocate for cancer research, and her relationship with Hoosier Cancer Research Network began in 2010, when her students performed during the organization’s 25th anniversary celebration. In recognition of Gordon’s impact on the community and her commitment to advocating for research, HCRN honored her with the Terry Hoeppner Patient Advocacy Award.

In its first year, proceeds from Courage to Climb went toward breast cancer research. As the event became an annual occurrence, Gordon wanted to expand the focus to include funding for other cancers. Hoosier Cancer Research Network was a good fit, with its long record of conducting clinical research in a variety of cancer types. Courage to Climb has donated proceeds to HCRN since 2011, with more than $20,000 raised to date.

Donations from Courage to Climb allow Hoosier Cancer Research Network to support leading cancer researchers in their work to develop cutting-edge treatments for cancer, such as therapies that help the immune system fight cancer and targeted therapies that are based on an individual’s genetic profile.

For the community of Columbus, Courage to Climb has become much more than a benefit concert. It is also an opportunity to remember and celebrate loved ones who have battled cancer, and to support those who are currently battling cancer.

“Our community has come to know this as an annual event, one that touches many lives we will never know,” Gordon said. “We want to inspire people who are going through cancer to know, ‘You can get through this; you are not alone.’”

Gordon notes the unique role of survivors in supporting those who are in the midst of their fight.

“There is always a mentoring that we do when we become survivors. You sort of pay it forward,” Gordon said. “This concert really helps us with that. We say it up front, that if you have a need, there are a lot of us survivors here.”

Columbus North High School seniors Sarah Pankratz and Caleb Bray are teaming up to coordinate this year’s concert as their senior projects. The senior project requires students to take ownership of an activity or event that benefits the community.

“The senior project encourages leadership, management, and responsibility,” Pankratz said. “It moves you on to the next step where you will have to incorporate a lot of these things into day-to-day life.”

Pankratz has been involved in Courage to Climb as a performer since before her freshman year. Since then, her heart was set on coordinating the concert for her senior project. In recent years, the concert has taken on greater significance for her.

“I’ve lost two family members to cancer, one to lung cancer and one to leukemia,” she said. “It’s definitely become more personal to me.”

Bray become involved with Courage to Climb in support of his mom, who was in the midst of a battle with cancer last year. For Bray, the most difficult part of the experience was his feeling of helplessness. He saw Courage to Climb as a way to gather around individuals and families who were in need of support.

“It’s a good way to have a sense of togetherness,” he said. “If you’ve made it through, you’re extremely blessed. But if you’re still in the middle of it, you know there are other people going through what you’re going through, and you don’t have to do this alone.”

If You Go:

• When: Saturday, August 13, 2016
• Where: Erne Auditorium, Columbus North High School, 1400 25th St., Columbus IN 47201. See map.
• Cost: $15 at the door. General admission.
• Social Media: Share your photos and comments, using the hashtag #c2climb on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

Donations Accepted:

Courage to climb is accepting donations through GoFundMe at: www.gofundme.com/ctc2016.

Donations may also be mailed — with checks payable to “CNHS Choir” and “Courage to Climb” in the memo line — to:

CNHS Choir
c/o Janie Gordon
1400 25th Street
Columbus, IN 47201

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has initiated more than 150 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 300 publications. More than 4,600 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.