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.