“It was great to see so many familiar faces” were the first words from Mark Stadheim of Stadheim Jewelers. For the second year in a row Stadheims partnered with Pandora Jewelry to provide all of the cancer survivors with a free gift of Pandora jewelry as they walk in this year’s Relay for Life event. First time participants received a Pandora bracelet and Angel of Hope charm and those who were back for a second year received a Pandora tennis shoe charm to represent the Relay for Life.

“Repeat walkers means they have survived another year which is a compliment to the progress we are making in the fight against cancer,” Mark said.

“Since last year’s Pandora event we had cancer invade our family,” Beth Stadheim Ordalen added. “We lost our mother, Evelyn, to pancreatic cancer in June. When we made the decision in 2008 to host this Pandora event every year, we were all aware of how quickly cancer can strike a family, but we had our eyes opened quickly with the loss of our mother. Stadheim Jewelers is honored to be part of the Relay for Life and hope the gift of Pandora jewelry adds something special to every cancer survivor who participates. We look forward to assisting the Relay for Life for many years to come.”

Stadheim Jewelers provided a special Pandora event in 2008 for the Albert Lea/Freeborn County Relay for Life, and added the Mason City and the Austin/Mower County relay for Life events in 2009.

“It just made sense to be part of the Relay for Life events in all the communities we serve,” said Jeff Stadheim of the Mason City store. “Hopefully, in a little way, we can help attract more people and companies to get involved. The fight against cancer takes a lot of money and the Relay for Life events help raise important funds for cancer research.”

Stadheim Jewelers has locations in Albert Lea, Austin and Mason City, Iowa. They have been a family owned jewelry company since 1954.