New York Walk 2009 -- Jennifer's Page

Grandma's girls (Michelle, Francesca, Me and Maria)
Jen's Goal Goal: $1,800.00 Achieved: $2,820.25

This is Me and My Energy!

Thanks for visiting my Avon Walk page. It's amazing what I'll do to get a weekend away from the four kids!

I’ve committed to participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this October in New York. I am so lucky that my sister (and best friend) Michelle will be by my side! The training will be hard. The walk will be hard. But it's nothing to compared to battling breast cancer.

Just before Christmas, 2006, I did a random breast self-exam. I never did too many of them, not since 8th grade health class when we all squirmed and wished for the bell to ring when the nurse showed us how to circle our nipples. But that night I felt the urge to check. Maybe it was a commercial. Maybe it was something else. But to my horror, I felt a lump. I was so scared I didn't even ask my husband Ray to check me -- at least for a few days. Then it was another 10 days, until after the holidays, before I got an appointment at the GYN's office. The wait for the imaging. The wait for the inconclusive findings. And so on for months, until finally someone said, "Let's just biopsy the darn thing." So after eight months of agonizing, ultrasounds, mammograms, despite the doctor's cautious assurances it was probably nothing, I finally had the evidence. Benign. See you next year.

Ever since that finding that I have wanted to walk. So many women get a different phone call than the one I did. My grandma Mitzi, my Aunt Pat, countless other women in my neighborhood and country, got that other phone call and began a different road, one of battles and scars and despair that I was blessed to be freed from.

It is for them that I walk. These amazing survivors who stared down the demon and won.

And it is for the others, who fought the best fight of all, and didn't win. For the warriors who never gave up hope, when hopelessness loomed, who smiled a little at the end, and were brave.

Finally, it is for my own mom, my sister, and my three young daughters, so that none of them will ever have to face the roar of the dragon.

Join me in the fight to eradicate this disease once and for all. I have set my personal goal at $1800, but would love nothing more than to bypass that, and then some.

I can’t do it without your help.

I hope that I can count on your support. Times are tough. I know that. We all go without. But I hope that my fundraising will ensure that the "sacrifice" another family makes is NOT a test, a treatment, a giving hand in the face of a terrible disease.

Of course you can't afford it. Neither can I. But none of us can afford the alternative.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my page.

Thank you for your support!

You can make a donation to my fundraising campaign right here on the website by clicking on the pink "Donate Now" button. If you prefer to write a check, just contact me and I'll send you the information and form.

As I prepare for this exciting event, I plan to update this page frequently so that all my supporters can follow my progress, so please visit often. While you're here, you might want to spend some time on the site to find out more information on why this event is so important, and the organizations and people that will be helped by the money we all raise.

I will also be keeping a blog of my experience of training during the months ahead. Please check back often for updates and general musings!

Thank you in advance for your support -- today, and always.

The Journey

 

About the Avon Foundation
Since it was founded in 1955, the Avon Foundation has been committed to the mission to improve the lives of women and their families. Now past the half century milestone, the Avon Foundation brings this mission to life through two key areas of focus: breast cancer and domestic violence. From an initial $400 scholarship in 1955, Avon philanthropy has expanded globally and through 2008 exceeded $660 million raised and awarded worldwide. The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade launched in 1992, and Avon breast cancer programs in over 50 countries support advancing access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer, with a focus on the medically underserved. For more information about the Avon Foundation visit http://www.avonfoundation.org/ or call 1.866.505.AVON.

The Avon Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity. Our IRS tax-exempt number is: 13-6128447.

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