BROOKFIELD, WI - Gary Falconbridge, president/CEO of Colordyne Technologies and Andrew Matter, general manager of Colordyne Technologies, provided an early holiday present to the American Cancer Society when they donated $5,000 to the organization on December 16, 2014. 

The donation was presented to Christine Hazel, community relations at the American Cancer Society, and Ashley Matter, daughter of Andrew Matter and sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ashley Matter is the Sponsorship Chair on the Planning Committee of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life chapter at the university. Falconbridge and Andrew Matter's donation will partially be used in support of the 2015 Relay for Life event that the university will host on March 28, 2015.

"Gary and I have close friends and family that are fighting cancer right now, and decided we wanted to donate in some capacity," Andrew Matter said. "We recognized that Ashley's group was an avenue that could happen through and we are proud to support Relay for Life's efforts in the fight against cancer."

"I was inspired to join UWM's American Cancer Society program because members of my family are cancer survivors, so it has affected my life a lot. I am determined to give back any way I can," Ashley Matter said.

The donation was made especially poignant when the Matter family lost Diane J. Schmidt, a close family friend, to brain cancer just three days after presenting the gift. "She was very important to my family, and this donation honors her," Matter said. 

In lieu of flowers, Schmidt's family invites memorials to Pinecrest Manor Nursing Home, 414 South Wesley Avenue, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054; or Serenity Hospice & Home, 4045 West IL Route 64, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054. 

To learn more about the American Cancer Society or the Relay for Life, visit  www.cancer.org.