Meals 2 Heal offers local service opportunity

Meals 2 Heal offers students the opportunity to learn about nutrition and culinary skills while connecting with members of the community as they prepare nourishing meals for cancer patients. Based out of the Calvary United Methodist Church in Green Hills, Meals 2 Heal seeks to prepare and deliver a week’s worth of meals, free of charge, to cancer patients in Davidson and Williamson County. “Although we’re serving meals to people who are currently going through active cancer treatment, it’s not just the meals that are important, it’s the love and the support that we give them — it’s the love that we teach the people in the kitchen,” volunteer coordinator Robin Mizaur said. Meals 2 Heal is a branch of The Heimerdinger Foundation, which was founded following the death of Mike Heimerdinger who lost his battle with cancer in September of 2011. It was during his treatment that the Heimerdinger’s were exposed to the whole-body approach of using nutrition, supplements and alternative treatments along with Chemotherapy. The Heimerdinger Foundation was formed to promote healthier lifestyles and help raise awareness about cancer treatment options. “It’s not just about the food; we’re also hoping that people will make healthy lifestyle changes,” Mizaur said. Founder Kathie Heimerdinger works alongside the volunteers in the kitchen each week and says that each person who contributes to the preparation is an integral part of the process. “I’m just so grateful that we’re here and blessed with the people that walk through our doors and help us produce these unbelievable meals — from our chef to the mentor chefs to the teen volunteers,” Heimerdinger said. Heimerdinger modeled...

McKenzie King relays for family friend, encourages others to join

When one of McKenzie King’s family friends was diagnosed with breast cancer, she knew she wanted to make an impact on the cancer community for the rest of her life. “It just seems like the longer you live, the longer you know people that have either had it [cancer] directly or know someone who has had cancer,” said King, whose passion for the fight fuels her participation in Relay for Life. King, a senior molecular biology major from Omaha, Nebraska, was first impacted by cancer during her sophomore year in high school. King watched Sydney Vanderspuy, a close family friend, fight cancer. She also saw the effects of cancer first-hand with her pastor and a close friend in the Army. King’s interest in the cancer community didn’t stop when she came to Lipscomb. During her sophomore year at Lipscomb she volunteered at the Hope Lodge, a home-like environment cancer patients and their caregivers can stay at during treatment. During her time as a volunteer, she was able to connect with cancer patients by giving tours of Nashville and providing transportation to treatment. It was also during her sophomore year that she became a part of the Relay for Life committee. As King has grown closer to the committee over the years, she is especially looking forward to staying up and having fun this year. “Looking back, I think that the most enjoyable part for me is staying up a little bit later, because as you go on throughout the night we never stop doing anything.” At this year’s event, there will be Zumba, yoga, lip sync, ping-pong, zorb ball soccer and inflatables...