Test tubes and microscopes don’t normally excite me unless, of course, the tubes are filled with liquid gold or the scopes are focused on diamonds.
However, I have to admit the equipment in staff scientist Sean Yoder’s lab held special appeal for me despite its lack of glitter.
A group of friends and me were taking a tour of the Don and Erika Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, getting a dumb-downed explanation of how the money we raised from last year’s Project Cure was being used.
Project Cure is our pie-in-the-sky dream of wiping out breast cancer. However, we discovered our dream might not be quite so out of reach anymore.
Four years ago we decided to raise money for breast cancer research after three young mothers at our children’s school, St. Stephen Catholic School in Riverview, died from the disease. Two of the mothers had children in my son’s class and the third was the wife of the music and art teacher.
Determined to take action, we hosted a three-day, 60-mile walk along Natures Way in Bloomingdale East as well as a children’s walk and festival at the school. We sold pink baseball caps decorated with the breast cancer signature ribbon, jewelry, signed up sponsors for the walks, solicited donations, even stood on street corners with jars during the three-day walk.
Frankly, we were a bit stunned to discover we’d raised $26,000 during the first-time effort. There were six of us in the core group and none of us had ever tackled a major fundraiser before. We just knew that we had lost too many friends to this terrible disease and needed to take action, to ease our sense of helplessness and grief, to give meaning to our friends’ deaths and to show their children they did not die in vain.
Heck, I was just happy I completed all 60 miles.
It wasn’t until July that I discovered the real impact we made. That’s when Moffitt arranged a tour for us including lunch with Dr. Bradford Carter, a cancer surgeon, professor of oncology surgery and leader of the Don and Erika Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program.
He’s also my personal hero. I saw him speak at a breast cancer fundraiser hosted by the Lightning Foundation and the Greater Brandon Community Foundation at Bell Shoals Baptist Church in 2005, and was impressed by the research he spoke of that was taking place at Moffitt. I hadn’t realized such groundbreaking studies were occurring in our own back yard.
In fact, Moffitt is ranked third in research and treatment in the country by the National Cancer Institute and has 13 clinical programs studying different types of cancer including the Don & Erika Wallace program.
When we discovered we could raise funds that would all go to research, not administrative costs or overhead, we agreed that Moffitt should be our benefactor.
We knew our money was in good hands when we turned it over to Shirley Fessell. She not only works for the foundation but happens to be a parishioner at St. Stephen Catholic Church. Ironically, we didn’t meet her until after we chose the foundation as our charity.
The researchers at the foundation, though, will tell you that Shirley didn’t mince words when she handed them our hard-earned treasure.
“This is the Lord’s money,” she told them solemnly. “It has to be used for something special.”
It just so happened Moffitt researchers had something special in need of funding.
Dr. Pam Munster, a member of Moffitt’s Division of Experimental Therapeutics and Breast Oncology, was short $10,000 to complete an important Phase I clinical trial. Munster is looking at women’s DNA histories and how they can be used to optimize the benefits of chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Right now, doctors blast cancer patients with chemo, hoping the chemo will find the cancer cells. However, only 15 out of 100 patients actually benefit from the treatment.
Munster is trying to figure out how to unravel each patient’s DNA so doctors can target the cancer cells and leave the healthy cells alone.
The study goes along with Moffitt’s new partnership with Merck & Co. Inc., which is supplying the technology for Moffitt to collect the DNA samples of 50,000 patients and identify the genetic markers, allowing doctors to personalize cancer therapy for all patients. That’s what Yoder was doing the day of our tour. He was examining all these miniscule microarrays through the microscope, studying their genome structure.
So, according to Carter, a group of women with little more than luck and good intentions managed to help complete an important Phase I clinical trial and help begin the second phase. I’d say that’s better than liquid gold or diamonds.
“Your contribution made a huge impact,” said Carter, and I don’t think he was just humoring us because he added that competition for research dollars from the National Institute of Health, the American Cancer Society and other groups is pretty fierce. To be handed 26,000 unfettered dollars is a coup.
I got the distinct impression that he wanted us to go back and raise more money.
So that’s what we’re doing for the fourth year. To date, we’ve raised more than $70,000. We’re inviting all churches in the community to form teams and join us for the fourth annual Project Cure walk Nov. 13-15. Although it’s a three-day, 60-mile walk, participants are free to walk any distance they feel comfortable and to raise as much money as they can. There is no requirement to raise a minimum amount of money.
Registration forms are available at www.projectcure.ststephencatholic.org.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
You Can No Longer Sit On Your Hands
By D’Ann Lawrence White
My four fellow walkers applauded as I crossed the finish line one of them created by rubbing the toe of her athletic shoe across the dirt in the parking lot.
I’d completed my first 18-mile walk.
It was far from doing the 60 miles over three days I was expected to do the next weekend for Project Cure. But it wasn’t too shabby for a 47-year-old woman whose idea of exercise up until recently had been carrying a basket of laundry up the stairs and chasing the cat out the door.
We’d been training all summer, every weekend at 5:30 a.m. on Natures Way where our three-day walk to benefit the Don and Erika Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program for the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute would take place in memory of our friends at St. Stephen Catholic Church and School who lost their lives to breast cancer.
I was determined to walk, not only for my friends Rosana Bryant and Cheryl Nance, who died in their 30s leaving young children behind, but for all my other loved ones and friends who have lost their lives to cancer.
You reach the point where you can no longer sit on your hands, and when I heard a Moffitt researcher speak at the Greater Brandon Community Foundation Pink Tea and learned that the cancer center was conducting breakthrough genome research, I realized we could make a measurable difference by putting funds directly into the hands of the people who are seeking answers.
That was really my only contribution to Project Cure. We teamed up with the Lightning Foundation, which already had the fundraising arm in place and allowed us to sell its signature pink baseball caps with all proceeds going to the Wallace program.
All the real work was accomplished by a group of women whose strength and determination leaves me in awe – Lisa Huetteman, Mary Owens, Ivette Wagner, Amy Meany and Jean Weber, with a whole lot of help from the St. Stephen parish.
Let me amend that. With a whole lot of help from everyone we encountered and shared our story with.
Nearly everyone has been touched by cancer. I was speaking with Capt. John Marsicano of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, asking if he could send a patrol car by occasionally to check on a group of women walking Natures Way in total darkness at 5:30 a.m. carrying nothing more for defense other than mace and Grace (a stone Father Bill Swengros gave me with the word “grace” carved into it for me to rub to use my Parkinson’s tremors). Marsicano lost a son to cancer and was more than happy to do anything to help. The only problem, he joked, after discovering we were doing a 20-minute mile, was finding a cruiser that could pace us that slowly.
Actually, we probably walk a 15-minute mile, but thanks to the graciousness of the Bloomingdale Golfers Club, we take a break at the clubhouse restrooms about every two laps and spend more time than we should taking advantage of the clubhouse’s running water and air conditioning.
Of course, you aren’t required to walk the entire 60 miles. You can walk one mile, five miles or just come out and volunteer. We welcome everyone.
For information, visit, www.projectcure.ststephencatholic.org.
My four fellow walkers applauded as I crossed the finish line one of them created by rubbing the toe of her athletic shoe across the dirt in the parking lot.
I’d completed my first 18-mile walk.
It was far from doing the 60 miles over three days I was expected to do the next weekend for Project Cure. But it wasn’t too shabby for a 47-year-old woman whose idea of exercise up until recently had been carrying a basket of laundry up the stairs and chasing the cat out the door.
We’d been training all summer, every weekend at 5:30 a.m. on Natures Way where our three-day walk to benefit the Don and Erika Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program for the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute would take place in memory of our friends at St. Stephen Catholic Church and School who lost their lives to breast cancer.
I was determined to walk, not only for my friends Rosana Bryant and Cheryl Nance, who died in their 30s leaving young children behind, but for all my other loved ones and friends who have lost their lives to cancer.
You reach the point where you can no longer sit on your hands, and when I heard a Moffitt researcher speak at the Greater Brandon Community Foundation Pink Tea and learned that the cancer center was conducting breakthrough genome research, I realized we could make a measurable difference by putting funds directly into the hands of the people who are seeking answers.
That was really my only contribution to Project Cure. We teamed up with the Lightning Foundation, which already had the fundraising arm in place and allowed us to sell its signature pink baseball caps with all proceeds going to the Wallace program.
All the real work was accomplished by a group of women whose strength and determination leaves me in awe – Lisa Huetteman, Mary Owens, Ivette Wagner, Amy Meany and Jean Weber, with a whole lot of help from the St. Stephen parish.
Let me amend that. With a whole lot of help from everyone we encountered and shared our story with.
Nearly everyone has been touched by cancer. I was speaking with Capt. John Marsicano of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, asking if he could send a patrol car by occasionally to check on a group of women walking Natures Way in total darkness at 5:30 a.m. carrying nothing more for defense other than mace and Grace (a stone Father Bill Swengros gave me with the word “grace” carved into it for me to rub to use my Parkinson’s tremors). Marsicano lost a son to cancer and was more than happy to do anything to help. The only problem, he joked, after discovering we were doing a 20-minute mile, was finding a cruiser that could pace us that slowly.
Actually, we probably walk a 15-minute mile, but thanks to the graciousness of the Bloomingdale Golfers Club, we take a break at the clubhouse restrooms about every two laps and spend more time than we should taking advantage of the clubhouse’s running water and air conditioning.
Of course, you aren’t required to walk the entire 60 miles. You can walk one mile, five miles or just come out and volunteer. We welcome everyone.
For information, visit, www.projectcure.ststephencatholic.org.
Raising Money For A Miracle
By D'Ann Lawrence White
Brow furrowed in confusion, my son watched as tears streamed down my face.
He’d just turned 6 and this was his first funeral.
We were there to support Keely, his kindergarten classmate at St. Stephen Catholic School, and her mom, Denise, following the death of Keely’s dad, Vito Mattera, to cancer.
Keely didn’t understand the tears any more than her classmates. As she and her mother followed the coffin out of the church, she waved excitedly to her friends, oblivious to the tragedy that would forever alter her life.
A few weeks later, Keely and her classmates gathered to plant a tree in front of the school in her dad’s honor. Over the years, as the children blossomed, the tree bearing Vito’s name would mature with them.
By the time the class reached the end of first grade, the children were a bit more prepared for what to expect at a funeral. Over the course of the year, their homeroom mother, Roseanna Bryant, Joshua’s mom, courageously battled a particularly virulent form of breast cancer. The students watched as she lost all of her hair but never lost her spirit, or that familiar, engaging laugh that accompanied the amusing activities she would plan for the class.
This time, my son Ian understood my tears as the pallbearers brought the coffin bearing Roseanna into the church. He quietly got up from his seat and went in search of some tissues. Later at the cemetery, he stood like a little soldier with his arm stiffly around Joshua’s shoulder as we bid a final farewell to Roseanna.
As they did with Keely’s father, the classmates gathered a few weeks later to plant a tree in honor of Joshua’s mother.
The close-knit group of students was granted a two-year reprieve. Cheryl Nance, mother of quiet, little Olivia, tried to hide her illness from the children as long as she possible. Like Roseanna Bryant, Cheryl was in her 30s when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
We were convinced she would beat it. It seemed impossible our children would lose another parent.
But it was not to be.
We gathered with Cheryl just before Christmas to pray for a miracle. Cheryl died just after the new year.
My eyelids were swollen from crying as I stared unbelievingly at the portrait of Cheryl’s ever-smiling face on the easel near the altar of the church. Beside me, my son reached into my purse to pull out the tissues I had stashed there.
Now accustomed to the tradition, the children prepared to plant a third tree.
Shortly after, the students noticed a change in their normally cheerful, carefree music and art teacher, Harry Stuart. He seemed preoccupied. He wasn’t as quick to smile. Some days he didn’t come to school. And when they saw him at church, his young wife, Cathie, wasn’t at his side as usual.
We dreaded telling them that Cathie, too, had breast cancer. The school and parish community rallied to support and pray for the Stuarts and their two children.
But, again, Ian and his classmates were compelled to attend a funeral.
Ian was armed with a box of tissues but I didn’t need them this time. I was too numb to cry. bond
I think we were all shell shocked. Our sorrow, our efforts to support these families, our concern for the children and spouses who were grieving, had bonded us, transforming us from a group of acquaintances with a shared interest in our children to lifelong friends.
And in the midst of our shock, it was clear to us all that God was sending us a message.
He was demanding that we take action.
We considered forming a team and joining the Susan G. Komen for the Cure 3-Day Walk. But a fellow parishioner told us that Susan G. Komen provides funding to Planned Parenthood.
As Catholics, we firmly believe in the sanctity of life. Susan G. Komen admits that more than half of its 116 affiliates provide grants to Planned Parenthood abortion clinics. The Komen organization defended the grants, saying the money specifically funded breast exams for low-income women.
Nevertheless, we could not, in all good conscience, support an organization that provided any funding for abortion clinics.
Also alarming was the discovery of where our hard-earned dollars would go.
According to the national Better Business Bureau’s charity review for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in 2006 the charity’s chief operating officer’s yearly salary is $293,405. It also pays the salaries of 173 employees. In all, the charity’s administrative expenses totaled $2,042,073. Its program expenses were $25,269,582.
We began searching for an organization we could morally endorse and trust to use our funds wisely.
In October 2005, as Cheryl Nance fought for her life, I attended a fundraiser at which H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute researcher Dr. W. Bradford Carter spoke. He talked about groundbreaking genome research being done at Moffitt to identify specific cancer molecules so oncologists could provide targeted therapy.
Carter’s research is funded through the Don and Erika Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program at Moffitt.
With the idea that life-saving research is being done in our own back yard, we developed Project Cure where 100 percent of the funds we raise go to breast cancer research through the Wallace breast program. No funds are spent on overhead or administrative costs.
We also wanted our fundraiser to be all-inclusive. The event is a three-day, 60-mile walk but no one is required to walk all 60 miles. Participants can walk as little or as many miles as they wish. Likewise, participants are not required to raise a minimum amount to participate. Any donation, large or small, is appreciated.
Starting at Bloomingdale East Park and walking around Natures Way in Bloomingdale East, the event allows supporters to take part in a number of ways. They can obtain sponsors and walk. They can sponsor walkers or set up refreshment stations for walkers during the event. They can volunteer to sign in walkers or provide first aid. They can host fundraisers prior to the walk or make direct donations through the Project Cure Web site. They can provide the names of people they would like the walkers to pray for each day of the walk. Or they can simply encourage the walkers by driving by and honking their horns or placing banners with encouraging messages along the walk route. To help, visit our Web site at www.projectcure.ststephencatholic.org.
This year’s walk is set for Nov. 13-15.
In the three years since the walk began, Project Cure has raised more than $70,000 for breast cancer research.
Sure, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the $242,618,086 Susan G. Komen raised in 2006. However, as we were treated to a VIP tour of the Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program research labs, we were able to see exactly where our funds were being spent.
In fact, the money we raised was used to complete an important Phase I clinical trial using DNA histories to optimize the benefits of chemotherapy for breast cancer. Dr. Pam Munster was $10,000 short of the funding she needed to finish her study.
She said the funding from Project Cure was like a gift from heaven.
Maybe it was.
All I know is we refuse to plant one more memorial tree without making an effort to wipe out this devastating disease – for Cheryl, Roseanna, Cathie, Wendi and all the other brave women who are fighting or have fought breast cancer.
I would like to acknowledge the incredible women behind Project Cure, the core group of mothers who have literally put their blood, sweat and tears into this effort: Jean Weber, Ivette Wagner, Amy Meany, Mary Owens and Lisa Huetteman. However, there would be no Project Cure without the unwavering support of Father Bill Swengros and the St. Stephen Catholic Church community. Thank you.
Brow furrowed in confusion, my son watched as tears streamed down my face.
He’d just turned 6 and this was his first funeral.
We were there to support Keely, his kindergarten classmate at St. Stephen Catholic School, and her mom, Denise, following the death of Keely’s dad, Vito Mattera, to cancer.
Keely didn’t understand the tears any more than her classmates. As she and her mother followed the coffin out of the church, she waved excitedly to her friends, oblivious to the tragedy that would forever alter her life.
A few weeks later, Keely and her classmates gathered to plant a tree in front of the school in her dad’s honor. Over the years, as the children blossomed, the tree bearing Vito’s name would mature with them.
By the time the class reached the end of first grade, the children were a bit more prepared for what to expect at a funeral. Over the course of the year, their homeroom mother, Roseanna Bryant, Joshua’s mom, courageously battled a particularly virulent form of breast cancer. The students watched as she lost all of her hair but never lost her spirit, or that familiar, engaging laugh that accompanied the amusing activities she would plan for the class.
This time, my son Ian understood my tears as the pallbearers brought the coffin bearing Roseanna into the church. He quietly got up from his seat and went in search of some tissues. Later at the cemetery, he stood like a little soldier with his arm stiffly around Joshua’s shoulder as we bid a final farewell to Roseanna.
As they did with Keely’s father, the classmates gathered a few weeks later to plant a tree in honor of Joshua’s mother.
The close-knit group of students was granted a two-year reprieve. Cheryl Nance, mother of quiet, little Olivia, tried to hide her illness from the children as long as she possible. Like Roseanna Bryant, Cheryl was in her 30s when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
We were convinced she would beat it. It seemed impossible our children would lose another parent.
But it was not to be.
We gathered with Cheryl just before Christmas to pray for a miracle. Cheryl died just after the new year.
My eyelids were swollen from crying as I stared unbelievingly at the portrait of Cheryl’s ever-smiling face on the easel near the altar of the church. Beside me, my son reached into my purse to pull out the tissues I had stashed there.
Now accustomed to the tradition, the children prepared to plant a third tree.
Shortly after, the students noticed a change in their normally cheerful, carefree music and art teacher, Harry Stuart. He seemed preoccupied. He wasn’t as quick to smile. Some days he didn’t come to school. And when they saw him at church, his young wife, Cathie, wasn’t at his side as usual.
We dreaded telling them that Cathie, too, had breast cancer. The school and parish community rallied to support and pray for the Stuarts and their two children.
But, again, Ian and his classmates were compelled to attend a funeral.
Ian was armed with a box of tissues but I didn’t need them this time. I was too numb to cry. bond
I think we were all shell shocked. Our sorrow, our efforts to support these families, our concern for the children and spouses who were grieving, had bonded us, transforming us from a group of acquaintances with a shared interest in our children to lifelong friends.
And in the midst of our shock, it was clear to us all that God was sending us a message.
He was demanding that we take action.
We considered forming a team and joining the Susan G. Komen for the Cure 3-Day Walk. But a fellow parishioner told us that Susan G. Komen provides funding to Planned Parenthood.
As Catholics, we firmly believe in the sanctity of life. Susan G. Komen admits that more than half of its 116 affiliates provide grants to Planned Parenthood abortion clinics. The Komen organization defended the grants, saying the money specifically funded breast exams for low-income women.
Nevertheless, we could not, in all good conscience, support an organization that provided any funding for abortion clinics.
Also alarming was the discovery of where our hard-earned dollars would go.
According to the national Better Business Bureau’s charity review for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in 2006 the charity’s chief operating officer’s yearly salary is $293,405. It also pays the salaries of 173 employees. In all, the charity’s administrative expenses totaled $2,042,073. Its program expenses were $25,269,582.
We began searching for an organization we could morally endorse and trust to use our funds wisely.
In October 2005, as Cheryl Nance fought for her life, I attended a fundraiser at which H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute researcher Dr. W. Bradford Carter spoke. He talked about groundbreaking genome research being done at Moffitt to identify specific cancer molecules so oncologists could provide targeted therapy.
Carter’s research is funded through the Don and Erika Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program at Moffitt.
With the idea that life-saving research is being done in our own back yard, we developed Project Cure where 100 percent of the funds we raise go to breast cancer research through the Wallace breast program. No funds are spent on overhead or administrative costs.
We also wanted our fundraiser to be all-inclusive. The event is a three-day, 60-mile walk but no one is required to walk all 60 miles. Participants can walk as little or as many miles as they wish. Likewise, participants are not required to raise a minimum amount to participate. Any donation, large or small, is appreciated.
Starting at Bloomingdale East Park and walking around Natures Way in Bloomingdale East, the event allows supporters to take part in a number of ways. They can obtain sponsors and walk. They can sponsor walkers or set up refreshment stations for walkers during the event. They can volunteer to sign in walkers or provide first aid. They can host fundraisers prior to the walk or make direct donations through the Project Cure Web site. They can provide the names of people they would like the walkers to pray for each day of the walk. Or they can simply encourage the walkers by driving by and honking their horns or placing banners with encouraging messages along the walk route. To help, visit our Web site at www.projectcure.ststephencatholic.org.
This year’s walk is set for Nov. 13-15.
In the three years since the walk began, Project Cure has raised more than $70,000 for breast cancer research.
Sure, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the $242,618,086 Susan G. Komen raised in 2006. However, as we were treated to a VIP tour of the Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program research labs, we were able to see exactly where our funds were being spent.
In fact, the money we raised was used to complete an important Phase I clinical trial using DNA histories to optimize the benefits of chemotherapy for breast cancer. Dr. Pam Munster was $10,000 short of the funding she needed to finish her study.
She said the funding from Project Cure was like a gift from heaven.
Maybe it was.
All I know is we refuse to plant one more memorial tree without making an effort to wipe out this devastating disease – for Cheryl, Roseanna, Cathie, Wendi and all the other brave women who are fighting or have fought breast cancer.
I would like to acknowledge the incredible women behind Project Cure, the core group of mothers who have literally put their blood, sweat and tears into this effort: Jean Weber, Ivette Wagner, Amy Meany, Mary Owens and Lisa Huetteman. However, there would be no Project Cure without the unwavering support of Father Bill Swengros and the St. Stephen Catholic Church community. Thank you.
Breakfast to benefit Project Cure
Beef O' Brady's in Riverview is teaming up with St. Stephen Catholic Church to cure breast cancer by sponsoring a Pancakes for Project Cure breakfast Saturday, Aug. 1 from 8 to 10 a.m.
The breakfast will launch the fundraising efforts for St. Stephen Catholic Church in Valrico’s fourth annual Project Cure 3-Day Walk to raise funds for breast cancer research at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Registration is now taking place for this year’s walk scheduled for Nov. 13-15 around Natures Way in Bloomingdale East in Valrico.
For an advanced $20 family ticket or $5 individual, Project Cure supporters will feast on pancakes, sausage and coffee, milk and orange juice at the Beef O’ Brady’s Family Sports Pub at 13326 Lincoln Road, Riverview.
A family ticket will feed six family members.
Advanced tickets can be purchased by contacting Project Cure special events coordinator Jean Weber at gweber@tampabay.rr.com or by asking the management at Beef O’Brady’s.
Tickets also will be available on the day of the event for $6 per person.
The breakfast also will feature drawings for golf and batting gift certificates from Ace Golf Range, certificates from McDonald’s and Beef O’ Brady’s and Frisbees.
Supporters will have a chance to purchase breast cancer “Fight Like A Girl” T-shirts, sponsored by Beef O’ Brady’s, for $10.
In addition, Project Cure organizers will sell tickets for the Oct. 4 Paint the Park Pink game at Tropicana Field during which the Rays will take on division rival, the New York Yankees, starting at 1:38 p.m. A section in the upper deck has been reserved for Project Cure ticket holders. The cost of tickets is $16 with $3 from the sale of every ticket going to Project Cure.
For more information on the pancake breakfast, tickets to the Rays game, how to register for the Project Cure walk or to donate to Project Cure, visit www.projectcure.ststephencatholic.org.
About Project Cure
A group of women from St. Stephen Catholic School founded Project Cure after several young mothers at the school died from breast cancer. After investigating various programs, they opted to raise funds for the Don and Erika Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute because 100 percent of the money raised goes directly to clinical trials for breakthrough breast cancer research. No funds are spent on overhead or administrative costs. Since 2006, Project Cure has raised more than $70,000 for research at Moffitt.
Participants in the Project Cure walk are not required to walk a specified distance or raise a minimum amount of money. Project Cure welcomes all supporters of this worthwhile cause, whether they want to walk a few miles and raise $10 or walk the entire 60 miles and raise thousands of dollars. Project Cure also is seeking volunteer help the weekend of the event and submissions of names for its prayer list, which is recited each day of the walk.
The breakfast will launch the fundraising efforts for St. Stephen Catholic Church in Valrico’s fourth annual Project Cure 3-Day Walk to raise funds for breast cancer research at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Registration is now taking place for this year’s walk scheduled for Nov. 13-15 around Natures Way in Bloomingdale East in Valrico.
For an advanced $20 family ticket or $5 individual, Project Cure supporters will feast on pancakes, sausage and coffee, milk and orange juice at the Beef O’ Brady’s Family Sports Pub at 13326 Lincoln Road, Riverview.
A family ticket will feed six family members.
Advanced tickets can be purchased by contacting Project Cure special events coordinator Jean Weber at gweber@tampabay.rr.com or by asking the management at Beef O’Brady’s.
Tickets also will be available on the day of the event for $6 per person.
The breakfast also will feature drawings for golf and batting gift certificates from Ace Golf Range, certificates from McDonald’s and Beef O’ Brady’s and Frisbees.
Supporters will have a chance to purchase breast cancer “Fight Like A Girl” T-shirts, sponsored by Beef O’ Brady’s, for $10.
In addition, Project Cure organizers will sell tickets for the Oct. 4 Paint the Park Pink game at Tropicana Field during which the Rays will take on division rival, the New York Yankees, starting at 1:38 p.m. A section in the upper deck has been reserved for Project Cure ticket holders. The cost of tickets is $16 with $3 from the sale of every ticket going to Project Cure.
For more information on the pancake breakfast, tickets to the Rays game, how to register for the Project Cure walk or to donate to Project Cure, visit www.projectcure.ststephencatholic.org.
About Project Cure
A group of women from St. Stephen Catholic School founded Project Cure after several young mothers at the school died from breast cancer. After investigating various programs, they opted to raise funds for the Don and Erika Wallace Comprehensive Breast Program at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute because 100 percent of the money raised goes directly to clinical trials for breakthrough breast cancer research. No funds are spent on overhead or administrative costs. Since 2006, Project Cure has raised more than $70,000 for research at Moffitt.
Participants in the Project Cure walk are not required to walk a specified distance or raise a minimum amount of money. Project Cure welcomes all supporters of this worthwhile cause, whether they want to walk a few miles and raise $10 or walk the entire 60 miles and raise thousands of dollars. Project Cure also is seeking volunteer help the weekend of the event and submissions of names for its prayer list, which is recited each day of the walk.
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