Inspiring action: Overture Daniel Island resident rallies community to raise awareness and funds for LOWVELO
Jennifer Wilson | April 20, 2026
Joannah Sampson does not ride in LOWVELO.
“Oh no!” she exclaimed when asked. “You do NOT want to see this on a bike,” she laughed.
Despite her lack of enthusiasm for cycling, she has helped to raise nearly $12,000 for LOWVELO in the past two years. Her team, Overture Daniel Island, was created in 2024 to inspire residents of the active-living community with the same name to participate in LOWVELO and raise funds for lifesaving cancer research at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.
Sampson, a two-time cancer survivor, was volunteering at Hollings in 2024 when she was asked to share her patient story. After it was published, the LOWVELO team reached out to invite her to become involved in the fundraising bike ride, which donates 100% of participant-raised dollars to cancer research.
Sampson, who had previously participated in several other fundraising events to support cancer projects, was immediately on board. She, along with Overture resident Kandi Larson, organized a month full of events under the theme: “Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for a cure!” Events included lunches, social gatherings and wellness activities to unite the entire Overture community in the fight against cancer.
For LOWVELO25, she was determined to make an even bigger impact.
“We wanted to raise more money, of course, but the main goal was really to reach more people and get them involved in the cause,” Sampson said.
To do so, she partnered with Overture’s lifestyle coordinator, Pam Pepper, and packed their October activity calendar with fun, informative and creative events – everything from cocktail parties and lunch and learns to a pajama party and musical bingo. They held an incredible 27 events in 31 days. Their grand finale event, held on Oct. 30, was a “Day of Celebrating Wellness,” which featured local businesses, food vendors, raffles and community fun.
Committed to the cause
For Sampson, the cause is deeply personal. She and her husband, Gerry, have both faced cancer and turned to Hollings for care. She battled kidney cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, while Gerry has B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and fought stage 3 melanoma.
“My husband and I were adamant that if we were not happy, we were going back to Massachusetts, and we were going to go to Mass General or Beth Israel,” Sampson said.
“But from the moment we set foot in Hollings, there was just no looking back. We just were so impressed with the team and with the team approach; you never saw somebody who didn’t know you or didn’t know your diagnosis or didn’t know what the plan was. Everything was seamless. And that’s what impressed us the most.”
While receiving treatment at Hollings, Sampson noticed something that made her determined to give back after she got better.
“When I was going through treatment, it really bothered me when I saw people sitting there, going through treatment all by themselves. There was one woman – and it just killed me – her husband had decided to leave her because he ‘couldn’t handle the cancer.’ So, I promised myself that when I got better, I would give back.”
Sampson volunteers at the infusion center in Mount Pleasant and at Ashley River Tower in downtown Charleston. She is also involved with the Survivorship and Cancer Outcomes Research (SCOR) Initiative at Hollings. Created in 2022, SCOR promotes the health of all cancer survivors throughout South Carolina and their caregivers through clinical care, research, education, and community engagement.
Sampson was invited to be a part of that mission by joining the 2025 SCOR Symposium as the survivor keynote speaker. She has since been inspired to begin work on her own program, tentatively named “Cancer Companions,” which would connect patients with survivors who experienced similar diagnoses.
She speaks highly of the doctors, nurses and staff at Hollings and believes that having a companion outside the medical team could even further support patients during their journeys.
“This would be somebody that you can call and just say, ‘What did this treatment feel like, or where do I get a port shirt?’ That’s what having a cancer companion would be for – so that you’re not going through this alone. You have somebody who has gone through the same thing,” Sampson explained.
Changing what's possible
Sampson is incredibly proud that her LOWVELO team’s fundraising efforts brought in close to $6,000 again in 2025, but she is even more energized about how the Overture community came together to learn about health and wellness.
“I wanted to raise as much money as I possibly could, of course. But I really wanted people to be aware and healthy and cognizant of their lifestyles,” she said.
Throughout October 2025, Sampson also hosted weekly “One University” sessions, an opportunity for Hollings experts to share their expertise and answer residents’ questions about wellness and healthy living. Several Hollings clinicians, including John Wrangle, M.D.; Benjamin Toll, Ph.D.; and dietitian Janet Carter, visited the community, sparking lively and meaningful conversation.
“We all really enjoyed the open dialogue around health that the doctors inspired. Everyone spent as much time as they possibly could answering questions,” Sampson said.
Sampson believes that the Overture community is a special one, and that it will continue to fundraise for LOWVELO for many years to come. She hopes that their team’s efforts will inspire other active-living organizations to follow their lead and involve their residents as well.
“They say if you can touch one life, then your life is worthwhile, and that’s all I hope for.”
