Doc’s Rocks Gem Mine of Blowing Rock Holds Annual Fundraiser to Help Fight Breast Cancer Saturday, Oct. 20

By Paul T. Choate

Oct. 15, 2012. Doc’s Rocks Gem Mine of Blowing Rock will again be holding their annual Breast Cancer Fundraising Day on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and proceeds will go to Appalachian Regional Healthcare System’s cancer patient emergency fund. 

According to Randy “Doc” McCoy, owner, this is the first year Doc’s Rocks is donating entirely into a local fund. McCoy said in the past donations have gone to the Coma Foundation, United Breast Cancer Research Foundation and others, but he decided it would be best to keep it local this time around. 

“I got a flier for the Blowing Rock annual fundraiser drive for the Breast Cancer Research Center and I was reading the fine details on the back and only 4.52 percent goes to research,” McCoy said. “So, I got to checking on all of them and found out that most of it, they say, goes to marketing or whatever.”

Upon finding out about the small percentage of proceeds that actually go to research, McCoy said he contacted local oncologists with ARHS and informed them of what he would like to do. 

“We told them, ‘We would rather stay here and know 100 percent of it is going to be used for what it is said to be used for,’” he said. 

All proceeds raised on Oct. 20 from the gem mine, the fossil museum and the coffee shop will be donated. Additionally, people can donate in increments of $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100 and put their name on a paper gem stone that will be hung on the wall. At the end of October, the names will be taken down for a drawing, and the first five names drawn will receive a pink sapphire gemstone. 

This will be the fifth year Doc’s Rocks has held an annual fundraiser in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. McCoy said he was inspired to do all he could to help those suffering from breast cancer after losing his sister to the disease in 2007. 

Last year, Doc’s Rocks was able to raise over $8,000 to help fight breast cancer. The local business has already raised almost $3,000 this year and McCoy said he would like to be able to raise $8,000 again this year. He added that he is hoping for at least a $4,000 bump in the total following the fundraising day.

Doc’s Rocks Gem Mine is located at 129 Mystery Hill Lane, Blowing Rock. 

For more information, call 828-264-4499 or visit docsrocks.net