For 18 years, MileOne Autogroup has donated a luxury vehicle to auction to raise funds to fight cancer with the American Cancer Society. This year’s winner, Louvenia Banks, a retired teacher and cancer survivor from Calvert County, Maryland, has chosen the $20,000 cash option in place of the car, which was a 2018 Mercedes-Benz SUV GLA 250. More than 5,000 raffle tickets at $10 each were sold, raising funds that will be devoted to providing transportation to treatment for local cancer patients, lodging for patients being treated from out-of-town and cutting-edge research to discover new cures and save more lives from cancer. Over the years, MileOne Autogroup has raised more than $3 million for the American Cancer Society and donated two patient transportation vans to Baltimore Hope Lodge to take out-of-town patients staying there to treatment.
A breast cancer survivor who taught in the Calvert County school system for 37 years, Ms. Banks is a very active, long-time member of Relay For Life of Calvert County, who has participated annually since the very first Relay in Calvert County in 1995 at Calvert High School. That year, she Relayed with staff from Southern Middle School, where she taught at the time. Ms. Banks was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer the year before the Calvert Relay For Life was founded. Unfortunately, she lost her sister to colon cancer in 1995. Sadly, she also lost a daughter to breast cancer in May 2018 and lost her husband to lung cancer in 2008. Additionally, four of her five brothers – she is one of seven children – are prostate cancer survivors. Her family has been hard hit by cancer, which is one of the main reasons that she is such a strong American Cancer Society supporter.
“Being part of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is rewarding, and it gives you more hope,” says Ms. Banks. “My sister was my support during my cancer diagnosis and treatment. Her passing just made me want to get out there and fight more. We cannot forget the ones who are gone. We can still fight for the ones who will be diagnosed and support cancer research to find new cures. I live for Relay For Life. I’m here for a reason.
“I have friends and other family members who have gone through cancer recurrences, and they are still fighting and pushing forward. Former students of mine have had cancer. Cancer doesn’t have an age.”
Ms. Banks, who lives in Lusby, Maryland, is the Relay team captain for the “Lusby Charge Amps,” which is composed of congregants of her church, Eastern United Methodist Church, and St. John United Methodist Church. In fact, she was on the phone calling shut-ins and sick congregants on behalf of her volunteer church work, when the phone call came from the American Cancer Society that she was the winner of the raffle. The winning ticket was pulled live on the MileOne Autogroup Facebook page by Scott Fader, but Ms. Banks was busy on the phone taking care of others, so she missed watching the drawing.
OnMonday, January 14, 2018 at 11 a.m., MileOne Autogroup COO Scott Fader will present the check to the winner at Mercedes-Benz of Owings Mills, 9727 Reisterstown Road, Reisterstown, Maryland.
The MileOne Autogroup annual car raffle was established by former MileOne Automotive CEO Jerry Fader, who lost his battle with cancer in 2011. His legacy has been preserved by his family and three sons, Steve, Scott and Brian Fader. Through their efforts and with the help of MileOne Autogroup and its employees, they continue to support the American Cancer Society.
