On October 29th, before Hurricane Sandy made her presence known here in Cleveland, Cleveland City Council and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum recognized Mama Luke and declared October 29 “Mama Luke Day.”
Mama Luke is hip-hop’s fight against Breast Cancer in memory of Gay Frances Lucas. Gay Frances Lucas (“Mama Luke”) was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2008, and two weeks shy of her 60th Birthday, Gay lost her life to this dreadful disease on May 31, 2010. Before being diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Gay participated in the American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Walk for over 12 years, raising over $12,000 for this worthy cause.
On October 17, 2010, Shaunda, Film Executive and Manager of Hip-Hop Legend Kangol Kid, along with other Rap legends were greeted by Mayor Cory Booker as they sponsored the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk in Newark, New Jersey, bringing awareness and fund-raising efforts toward a cure to this disease in memory of Mama Luke. They raised $3,500.00 in just 3 weeks. According to the American Cancer Society, they became one of the top 10 fundraising teams. Their accomplishment led Shaunda and Kangol to create the monthly “Mama Luke Salute”, designed to honor a breast cancer fighter and take them from a day of chemo treatment to an evening of “royal treatment.” During the event, the “breast cancer fighter” is showered with gifts from various sponsors. Kangol and Shaunda’s tireless efforts to bring awareness to this dreadful disease have now manifested as Hip-Hop’s First Bowling Team. The team is designed to cure cancer “One PIN at a Time” as various Hip-Hop artists/celebrities will travel from city to city, to bowl against and/or with fans while raising funds and awareness.
At the recognition here in Cleveland, Kangol Kid and Shaundra unveiled the Mama Luke shirt that is covered front and back with the signatures of the biggest artists in hip-hop such as Kid Rock, Will Smith, LL Cool J, Missy Elliot, Lisa Lisa, Ice T and more. This shirt will be auctioned off in the future to benefit the Mama Luke foundation.
For information about Mama Luke, how you can contribute, and to stay updated on their current events, you can follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/mamalukegfl and on Twitter @mamalukegfl
