By GINNY COOPER MCCARLEY / Staff Writer

CALERA—On Sunday, July 27 at 2 p.m., friends, family and community members will gather at the Calera Community Center for an event benefiting Calera resident Joyce Roy.

Roy has been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for “several years,” event organizer Diane Lucas said, and the disease, which has caused Roy to be on oxygen, has “greatly impacted (Roy’s) quality of life.”

The event is free and open to the public and will feature hotdogs, beans, potato salad, chips, dip and sweets. A donation plate will be passed around to raise money for Roy’s treatment.

“We’re trying to come together as friends, family and a community for financial help,” Lucas said, noting Roy’s stem cell treatment is “very expensive.”

Lucas, who has hosted several benefits in the past, does not have a specific dollar amount in mind to raise, but said she hopes “we have a real large outcome.”

“It’s just a meeting of the community to help one of our own,” Lucas explained.