When people ask Wanda Jung why she works so tirelessly on the behalf of children with cancer and their families, the cards, letters and pictures she carries with her say it all.
Jung of Brookport, Ill., is organizing the fifth annual Terra’s Angels benefit concert Saturday night featuring Vince Gill and Little Big Town at the Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Center. Jung’s daughter Terra Murrell battled the rare bone cancer Ewing’s sarcoma for nine years before dying at age 20 in 2001. Murrell became acquainted with Gill when he visited cancer patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Gill and Jung have stayed in touch, with Gill donating his time and talent for the annual concert. Until this year, the show had been at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, but Gill told her it was time for the show to come home. Tickets remain available for the 7:30 p.m. show and are $200, $100, $75. The $200 tickets include a reception with the entertainers.
“We only have one fundraiser a year,” Jung said. “That’s the reason why it’s so essential to make as much money as possible.”
For every $100 ticket sold, $87 returns to the charity, Jung said. Moving the concert to Paducah also has helped with the amount of money Jung hopes to raise. By Wednesday, the charity was anticipating making more money than it usually does on a Nashville show.
A silent auction before the show will feature a full-sized child’s playhouse, diamond jewelry, a limited edition Superman pedal car, an autographed Peyton Manning football, autographed pictures of UK basketball players and various hotel, restaurant and spa packages. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
Terra’s Angels helped 51 families with children battling cancer last year. The charity paid mortgages, utilities, car payments, insurance co-payments and transportation costs to help families make it through lean times when their children were hospitalized. It also granted a “dream” for one young girl with terminal cancer so she could see a Broadway show in New York City, Jung said. “It all had to be done within a week’s time,” she said. “They didn’t know how long she’d live. Those are the memories that the family will have for a lifetime. You can’t take that away.”
Jung began the charity after Terra’s death and has been surprised at the needs. “It’s one of those things that if someone has been affected by cancer, you can’t say no,” she said. “If I have to pay for it out of my own pocket and charge it, I will do that. My fear is that if we run out of money, who’s going to help these folks.”
Continuing the charity is what Terra would have wanted. Jung said Terra always bought extra food at fast-food restaurants in Nashville to give to the homeless, and she reassured other children in the hospital who were battling cancer.
“Terra was like a radiant light. You always hear of angels on earth, and I think that’s what she was,” she said. “When she would walk into a room, she would always light it up. She was always positive. Vince saw that. He said he had never seen a more beautiful smile than what Terra had. Terra treated Vince like he was an ordinary person.”
For tickets, phone 450-4444.
