Finding a cure now...so our daughters won't have to.

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PA Farm Show, Here We Come!

Posted By on January 6th, 2011 at 9:10 am | 0 comments.

Cambria Co. Exhibit OpeningThis year, the PA Department of Health invited us to be a part of the 2011 Pennsylvania Farm Show. It takes place January 8th to the 15th at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. This show is the largest indoor agricultural event in America with over 10,000 competitive exhibits, 270 commercial exhibitors and lots of animals including sheep, pigs, horses, cattle, goats, chickens and rabbits. (Don’t even get me started on the fantastic food offerings!)

Our 67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania traveling photo exhibit will be on display for the nearly 400,000 visitors to view! We will have a PBCC table which will be staffed each day of the show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with lots of materials and helpful information.

Farm Show Packing CompletedIf you’ve ever been to the Farm Show, you know that TONS of people pass through the complex each day, which means we needed to pack up lots and lots of information and giveaways to hand out! This is one of those times when the staff really appreciates our volunteers. To prepare for the big event, Dennis and Gene, two of our regular office volunteers, counted out stacks and stacks of brochures, newsletters, fliers, pens, wristbands and plastic tote bags! Then they boxed up an assortment of things for each day of the event so we are sure to have items left toward the end of the week. This was a very tedious and time-consuming job, yet Dennis and Gene did it without a single complaint. Thanks, guys! We really appreciate your help.

So if you’re planning on coming to the PA Farm Show this year, please check out our photo exhibit and stop by the PBCC’s info table to say hi and pick up some info or a freebie or two. We have plenty ready for you!

Shopping Resources for Breast Cancer Patients

Posted By on January 4th, 2011 at 9:02 am | 6 comments.

One of the most commonly-requested items here at the PA Breast Cancer Coalition is a list of shops and boutiques across the state that sell wigs, prostheses, and other breast cancer-related items.   For many women who have been newly-diagnosed, this is one of their first questions.

We currently have a list of about 20 boutiques, shops, salons and websites that sell various products geared toward cancer survivors.  They are located from Allison Park to Abington, from Latrobe to Lancaster, and beyond!

If you know of a boutique or shop in PA (or a website with an online store) that sells mastectomy products and/or wigs, please comment below with the name of the company or its website and we’ll investigate it.   If it meets our criteria, it’ll be added to our resource list.

The more we have on our list, the better the chances that one of these shops will be within driving distance of each woman who needs to purchase something!  Thanks for sharing your finds with the 103,000 women in Pennsylvania battling breast cancer!

PBCC Office Atmosphere

Posted By on December 20th, 2010 at 9:40 am | 0 comments.

Some days at work, I sit here at my desk and think, “There is no way people would believe what goes on here on a daily basis!”

You might think working at a non-profit which deals with a horrible disease like breast cancer would be pretty sobering. While that can be true some days, for example when we heard of the untimely death of Elizabeth Edwards this week, most days at the PBCC are full of fun and laughter.

2010 PBCC Staff PhotoOne example of this is our annual staff photo. Since we hire a great professional photographer to capture the events of our October conference on film (boy, isn’t that phrase out-of-date now that we all use digital cameras!) we use that opportunity to have a staff photo taken. Here is the one we had taken this year.

Another fun time is our weekly staff meeting. Not a meeting goes by that we don’t diverge off into some crazy tangent for a few minutes. And getting us back on track can sometimes be a chore! We also have assigned tasks each week. One of us is in charge of inspiration – reading some heartwarming quote or story to the group. Someone else provides a word of the day which we all try to work into the meeting. Our competitiveness sometimes comes out and things can get a little crazy. Imagine trying to use the words “soporific”, “perspicacious” or “bloviate” in casual conversation! And another staffer shares some sort of tip, which could be a book or movie recommendation, a favorite recipe, some work-related advice or even just life lessons. Some past tips included ways to winterize your home, how to create an edible snack bowl out of Chex Mix, and how to survive a nuclear attack. As you can imagine, our meetings often devolve into howls of laughter.

I feel so blessed and grateful to work in an office where laughter, fun and smiles are the norm. I get to meet such special people in the breast cancer community and I get to work in a fun, relaxed office atmosphere. What more could I want?

Give a Holiday Gift That Makes a Difference

Posted By on December 16th, 2010 at 9:02 am | 0 comments.

There are a few people on my holiday gift list that are impossible to buy for.  They either have everything they could possibly need, they never give me any gift ideas, or simply are scrooges who don’t like anything no matter what I get!  I’m sure you have a few of these people on your list.

Well, I have the perfect gift for those hard-to-buy-for friends and family members….a donation to the PA Breast Cancer Coalition in their honor.  It’s so easy to do.   Head over to our donation page, make your secure online donation, and let us know the name and address of the person in whose name you’re donating.   We will send you a thank you letter which can be used as a tax receipt, and we’ll also send the honoree a note explaining that you gave a gift to us in their honor.  If you’d rather let them know about the donation yourself, we can send their note to you instead, so you can wrap it and hand it to the person at your holiday get-together.   Simply let us know that in the comments section of the donation form.

How easy is that?  And who wouldn’t appreciate the idea that you made a donation in their name to the PBCC, THE source of breast cancer information and advocacy in Pennsylvania?   Who wouldn’t feel proud knowing a donation was made in their honor to help the PBCC represent, support and serve breast cancer survivors and their families all across the state?   Who wouldn’t love the idea that a holiday gift was made in their name to find a cure for breast cancer now…so our daughters won’t have to?

Help us continue our mission and programs while checking that difficult-to-buy-for person off your shopping list!  Thanks and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

We Love Thank You Notes!

Posted By on November 17th, 2010 at 8:48 am | 0 comments.

The 2010 PBCC Annual Conference is history!  But thank you notes and emails are still coming into the PBCC office.   Many of these are from women and men all across the state who were given financial assistance to attend the conference in Harrisburg on October 13th.   The PBCC offers various levels of grants and scholarships to applicants who otherwise would not be able to attend this inspirational and educational event.
This year, through the generosity of donors to the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund, the PBCC was able to provide assistance to 35 women and men all across the state and beyond – a record number!

One scholarship recipient wrote:

To all who donate to the Cary Massa Memorial Scholarship Fund,
The very thought of cancer leaves one in a state of fear. You get so lost in deep concerns and issues faster than you can take a breath to consume the news. You begin to lay your options out to try to cope. People like yourself come into your life. Caring, unknown strangers opening their hearts and offering the help we so desperately need…knowledge, hope, facts, and most of all choices. Thanks to you, I will have this helpful information offered to me. I am extremely grateful for that. Without your help I would not have been able to attend.

Patty
Erie, PA

Another said:

Please extend my sincere thank you to the friends and family of Cary for the gift. The scholarship represents a very fitting way to honor a dear friend and volunteer to the PBCC. What a lovely way for Cary to be a woman who continues to help other women breast cancer patients/survivors.

Cora Lee
State College, PA

And a nursing professor at Towson University, 9 of whose students received scholarships, wrote:

Please accept my heartfelt thanks for providing scholarships for my Towson University nursing students. They were totally impressed with the event, collegiality, networking and opportunities to learn more about breast cancer. It was indeed a class act of a professional conference, as I also gained much needed valuable information and knowledge as an educator.

Janet
Hagerstown, MD

Please consider contributing to the scholarship fund to help women and men attend future PBCC conferences.  We cannot do this work without your support.  The PBCC and all the recipients thank you!

Breast Cancer Blogs

Posted By on August 30th, 2010 at 10:02 am | 0 comments.

I’ve always had a bit of an obsessive personality.  Just ask my friends, family and PBCC co-workers.  When I get into something, I REALLY get into it.  At least until the next thing comes along.  (For example, in 2008 I set a goal to read 52 books in a year and actually did it!)

Blogs are one of my newest obsessions.  I currently follow 66 different blogs, including this one by the PBCC.  But I’m always on the hunt for more.  I just love finding a new, cool blog to add to my list and scanning the posts multiple times each day.  If you love blogs like I do, here are a few written by some pretty amazing breast cancer survivors.

www.wecanrebuildher.com – Andrea is a young wife and mother who lives in Canada and is fighting breast cancer.  Together with her husband Mark, she blogs about her cancer journey and takes lots of great photos.

www.butdoctorihatepink.blogspot.com – Ann Silberman is a mother, wife, and Middle School secretary in Sacramento, CA.  After her diagnosis in September 2009, she started a blog that’s full of humor and energy.

www.goodcancer.blogspot.com – Another Californian, Jennifer Overbeck was diagnosed in 2006 at age 39.  Though her treatment has been over for some time, she continues to blog sporadically to share news, thoughts on living beyond cancer, and updates from her 6-month checks.

www.cancerspot.org – Jacki Donaldson was diagnosed in 2004 at the age of 34 and has been blogging ever since.  I love her inspirational photos and quotes, as well as her stories of other survivors.  She also frequently shares helpful cancer-related resources that she comes across.

If you have any breast cancer blog recommendations, please send them my way.  I’m always on the lookout!

Newsletter Returns (i.e. Job Security)

Posted By on August 26th, 2010 at 9:45 am | 0 comments.

While many of the PBCC staff were traveling across the state in July, running our 11 Home Run Derby fundraisers and trying to stay cool, I was sitting at my desk with a huge pile of FrontLine newsletter returns staring at me.

The main part of my job entails keeping our database of over 78,000 constituents up-to-date.  Every time we send out a mailing to these constituents, we receive hundreds of returns and notifications of forwards from the post office.  I then have to update every one of those records in our database so the next time we send a mailing, it will go to the correct place!  Many times, people move without a forwarding address.  (Why?  I don’t understand that!  Don’t you want to get your mail at your new home?)  When that happens, I have to remove those people from our list so we don’t continue to mail to someone who’s no longer at that address.  It’s tedious work and takes me days and days each time we do a large mailing, which happens at least quarterly.  But I really don’t mind!

Don’t get me wrong, I do get bored after a while and have to get up from my desk, grab a cup of coffee, work on a different task.  But I eventually get through the pile.  And the feeling I get when that’s done is amazing.  I enjoy knowing that our large database is as accurate as it can possibly be.  I enjoy completing a task that seems insurmountable at the beginning.  I enjoy the details, the names, the addresses.  I enjoy making things right.

My co-workers often tell me, “I do not want your job!”  So I guess that means doing the tedious, boring stuff brings me job security.  Well, you know what?  I’ll take it!  And I’ll smile all the way through…until September when the next FrontLine newsletter goes out.

The Derby isn’t only about teams…are you a single batter?

Posted By on June 25th, 2010 at 2:00 pm | 0 comments.

Previously I have written about our need for Home Run Derby sponsors and volunteers.  And we still do need both!  If you’re interested, click here to learn more or sign up. 

The Home Run Derby events are major fundraisers for the PBCC.  Funds are raised through sponsorships, team fees, single batter fees, and donations.  Today, I am focusing on single batters.

For the low, low price of just $125 you can have an experience of a lifetime!  Imagine the scene.  You put on a batting helmet, grasp a baseball bat and step out onto home plate on your local minor league baseball field.  You sling the bat over your shoulder and take a few warm up swings.  The pitching machine whirs to life as you eye the outfield fence and wonder….could I?  Could I really hit a home run?  Well why not give it a try? 

For the price of $125, you receive:

  • 15 swings at the minor league baseball stadium of your choice
    • commemorative batter’s jersey
    • program
    • souvenir photo
    • goody bag
    • a great time!

Batters are scored on a scale ranging from 10 points for a fair ball hit in the infield to 100 points for a home run. The individual batter at each stadium with the highest point score is awarded a prize.  You will be given a batting time slot when your registration and payment is submitted to the PBCC.  All money raised through the Home Run Derby stays in Pennsylvania and allows the PBCC to continue supporting and serving breast cancer survivors and their families in this state.

Please consider becoming a Home Run Derby batter today!  We can’t help the thousands of women in PA who are dealing with breast cancer without your help!

Can Your Business Help Take A Swing Against Breast Cancer?

Posted By on June 1st, 2010 at 10:14 am | 2 comments.

Last week I wrote about our need for Home Run Derby volunteers.  And we still do need volunteers!  If you’re interested, click here to learn more or sign up.

The Home Run Derbies are major fundraisers for the PBCC.  Funds are raised through sponsorships, team fees, single batter fees, and donations.  Today, my focus is on sponsors.

Home Run Derby sponsorships range from $1,000 to $10,000, with wonderful benefits given at each level. 

For example, at the $1000 level, your company or group receives:

  • Two teams of four batters at local event of your choosing
  • The opportunity to display your company banner at local event
  • A mention in event advertising specific to local event
  • A listing on the official Home Run Derby website
  • A listing in all event programs
  • The opportunity to provide a promotional item in participant tote bags at local event

Just imagine what a $5,000 or $10,000 sponsor receives!  The promotional and marketing opportunities are well worth the cost!  Plus, your company will be seen in a positive light by linking with the PBCC, a statewide non-profit breast cancer organization.  To see all the sponsorship levels and benefits, click here. 

Please consider becoming a Home Run Derby sponsor today!  We can’t fulfill our mission, to find a cure for breast cancer now…so our daughters won’t have to, without your help!

Volunteer at the Home Run Derby

Posted By on May 25th, 2010 at 2:22 pm | 6 comments.

Are you a baseball fan? Have you always wanted to spend some time in the outfield of your local minor league baseball stadium? Do you have a few free hours during the morning or early afternoon? Then the PBCC needs you this summer!

The PBCC is again partnering with the PA Association of Community Bankers for the 3rd Annual Home Run Derby happening in each of PA’s minor league stadiums this July. We need about 25 volunteers per stadium to be successful. So if you live near one of the stadiums listed below and would like to donate some time, please sign up using the link below!

We are mostly in need of outfield shaggers. The perfect outfield shagger enjoys being out in the sun and doesn’t mind being on his or her feet for a few hours. Shaggers do not need to be able to catch or throw a ball! They simply collect balls hit into the outfield and infield once they have landed and rolled to a stop, then carry them to a collection point near second base. This might be a fun family activity to do with your kids! Please sign up today!

PA’s Minor League Baseball Teams:
Altoona Curve
Erie SeaWolves
Harrisburg Senators
Lancaster Barnstormers
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (All volunteer slots filled)
Reading Phillies
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
State College Spikes
Washington Wild Things
Williamsport Crosscutters
York Revolution