A Good Cause

September 6, 2008

Next Sunday (September 14) is the Komen New York City Race for the Cure®. It's a 5K run/walk that takes place in Central Park. I've signed up and am ecstatic about the amount of money my friends and co-workers have pledged. Thank you, everyone, for your outpouring of support! I've had to raise my goal several times. I ended up targeting $1,500 and, thanks to the generosity of many people, I have managed to surpass that goal! I can continue to collect donations through October 31. Who knows - maybe I'll surpass $2,000.

The cool thing about the Susan G. Komen foundation is that 85% of every dollar donated goes to the worthy cause of finding a cure for breast cancer. Since its inception over a quarter century ago, the foundation has invested over $1 billion in breast cancer research, and is the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

This year alone, Komen will invest $100 million in research grants, representing the largest single-year investment in research in the organization’s 26-year history. The 2008 grants move Komen closer to accomplishing its goal of investing another $2 billion in breast cancer research and community health programs by 2017.

Remember, one in eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer. Early detection is saving more and more lives every year. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2006, when she was 72 years old. She underwent a lumpectomy the following January, followed by several months of chemo and radiation treatments.

Today she is a healthy, happy woman enjoying her golden years with my dad in northern Georgia. She frequently visits with her young granddaughters from Atlanta, swims several times a week, and still cooks the world's most fabulous meals for her family.

My mom's 80-year-old older sister Geraldine was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year and underwent a mastectomy. She too is a survivor. Help continue the fight! Thanks to Nancy Brinker and organizations like the Komen foundation that Nancy kicked off in honor of her sister Susan G. Komen, we can beat this thing. To see where your money goes, go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation web site.

For anyone interested in helping me run breast cancer out of town, please donate here.

Thank you so much for your support, and please pray for Nadine, the wife of one of my employees, who underwent a double mastectomy on Monday.