Gifts that Make A Difference

Warriors in Pink - The Ford Foundation

Deanna Favre - Hope Foundation

Cook for a Cure - KitchenAid

Avon Walk Shop

Komen Market Place

Eighteen Degrees

This morning's walk was quite cold! I walked to road around the neighborhood at 18 degrees and with a brisk northern wind. The walk took a little over an hour, but it seemed to go much more quickly!

I have been trying to keep in shape since the walk last June. In August I started a training program called Couch to 5K. It is a 9 week training program for running a 5k - and since I have never run before, it has been a good start. I am going much more slowly than the 9 week program. I am at week 7 and running 2.5 miles 3 times a week.

My sister just started her Couch to 5K program. Hopefully we can do a run together (with Charlie the dog who is also in training) in the spring.

I am also trying to keep up some distant walking, so I do a walk around the neighborhood once a week.

Mom's Cancer

From Publishers Weekly
Don't let the title put you off: collecting the Eisner Award–winning Web comic of the same name, this story is more about how a life-altering event affects an entire family than another Lifetime disease-of-the-week story. When freelance writer Fies finds out his mother has both lung cancer and a brain tumor, her attempts to fight the disease—including rounds of radiation and chemotherapy—pull her entire family into the struggle. Fies is gentle but honest in telling his story. He refrains from painting his mother as a saint, depicting her instead as someone getting through a horrible situation by refusing to acknowledge just how bad it is. Nor does he shy away from the more complicated emotions his mother's health generates, including a sometimes heated rivalry with his two sisters (knowledgeable "Nurse Sis" and empathetic "Kid Sis"). Fies is most compelling when he finds insight in small details unique to his mother's experience, such as the strength she draws from a leather purse her father made while confined in a tuberculosis sanitarium. The clean, simple comic-strip quality of Fies's art fits the story perfectly, highlighting the gravity of the situation while cutting away undue sentimentality. Mom's Cancer is a quiet, courageous account of one family's response to a universal situation. (Apr.)

JM's Story

I wasn't really sure how the day would turn out, but I had made a promise to two of my best friends and I knew that I was going to give it my best no matter what. I really wondered about my sanity as the alarm went off at 3:30 that morning, but I showered, packed up, grabbed the dog and a bag of dog treats, remembered the blanket and took a book just in case. I was about to go to the Avon Walk to cheer on my friends as they walked 39 miles for the great cause of breast cancer awareness.

I arrived in the dark of morning, and knew immediately I had made the right choice when I saw Val and Joel in the early gloom in the parking lot. Val looked great, ready to walk, and Joel was already busy with his crew duties. I signed up, grabbed my cool blue t-shirt that said VOLUNTEER, and quickly helped with the breakfast duties. I found that there were so many volunteers I didn't have much to do before I was done. Susan and Sean materialized, and the little walking team was in place.

I drank coffee and watched as all the walkers gathered. It was one of the most amazing things, to stand there in the early morning grass and see all of these people accumulate with one purpose in mind. To walk 39 miles in the space of two days.

I said good-bye and good luck to Val, Susan and Sean. With my pom-poms, I stood in line with some other volunteers and we formed a cheering section as the group headed off. The motorcycle brigade fired up their bikes as the walk started, and I was astounded that the sound made tears well up in my eyes.

After cheering the starting line, I ran back to my car where the dog was waiting patiently. We drove along the route to a cheering station. I stood there and waved and cheered as walkers passed by, and I looked excitedly for the team I knew. Sure enough, here they came. Butch the dog and I cheered and smiled, and after they passed, dashed to the car for the next cheering station. I did this all day, never tiring of the game. Chase the walkers! Cheer them on!

The day got warm and long for me - I can only imagine how the walkers felt. But not once did my heart stop feeling for everyone involved in this huge event. Not once was I bored or wishing I was doing something else. This was a day for the books - top five for sure!

At the finish line that evening, it was especially emotional as I watched the walkers climb the last long hill. Many looked exhausted but every single one of them had a smile to some degree and that amazing sense of accomplishment.

I did not stay for the evening ceremonies and so missed the Great Rain Storm, but I was back the next morning with my dog and my cheering voice. I chased the walkers, and some by now knew the dog and always stopped to say "hi" as they passed by and give him a quick pet.

At the finish line that afternoon, things were, amazingly, even more emotional than the day before. This was the Big Finish with all the pomp and circumstance it deserved. To see all the pink t-shirts of the walkers there at the end was like a sea of pink. Absolutely beautiful.

No, I did not walk.
No, I did not crew.
Yes, I volunteered.
Yes, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

And yes, I will be back to volunteer next year. Back to chase the walkers and cheer them on, to run about the city and go places I've never been before, all in the name of supporting my friends and a worthy cause. I wasn't sure how it would all turn out, and I was initially feeling a little less than worthy because I wasn't actually walking.
However, in the end, volunteering was immensely gratifying to my soul and spirit. If I can help in my own little way, then I will. I will be back for the walk in Denver 2007.

Last walk of the Year

The last Avon Walk of 2006 was held last weekend in Charlotte, NC.

Here is a story from the Charlotte Observer.


Posted on Sun, Oct. 22, 2006

AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER
Making strides to save lives
Charlotte event raises $1.6 million to help find new cures, improve care
KATY STAFFORD
kstafford@charlotteobserver.com

Jinx Vidrine came all the way from Louisiana to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Charlotte this weekend. It's the fifth race she's walked in since she was diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago.

But the walk this year was different.

Vidrine lost her home in Hurricane Katrina last fall, and the 56-year-old is still living in a FEMA trailer in Louisiana. For her, the walk as a way to "refill her soul."

"Everyone needs to know that because of these walks, doctors are finding new cures," Vidrine said. "I am on a new drug that didn't even exist when I was diagnosed. I'm alive, and I represent hope."

About 800 people walked in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Charlotte this weekend, raising $1.6 million.

The Charlotte event is the last in a series of walks held across the country this year that has raised more than $41 million. The money will go to local and national breast cancer organizations to advance access to care and to find a cure, with a focus on the medically underserved.

The closing ceremony will be today at Memorial Stadium, where the Avon Foundation will award four grants to local organizations totaling $750,000: Carolinas Medical Center, Presbyterian Cancer Center, Palmetto Health Foundation in Columbia, and N.C. Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem.

Each walker raised a minimum of $1,800 in donations. Participants had the choice of walking 26.2 miles or 39.3 miles over Saturday and today.

The American Cancer Society estimates more than 200,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2006, including 6,290 women in North Carolina and 3,170 in South Carolina. About 41,000 women will die from the disease in 2006.

Dana's Sister

My thoughts are with you and your entire family.

Walk with Us! Sole Sisters!

Susan and I have committed to walking again in 2007, and we have formed a team in Denver - Sole Sisters!

Please seriously consider walking with us. Walking with people you know makes the 39 miles fly by. Really, it does! And how often in this busy world do you get to work in a positive team environment, in a situation where success is inevitable, where you can celebrate the beginning and celebrate the ending of a job well done? Well here is your chance!

To sign up, visit the Avon Walk Website. In the middle of the page there is a giant pink box. Select DENVER (or any other city you want to walk in, but we will be in Denver). Then click on REGISTER AND JOIN A TEAM. Our team name: SOLE SISTERS.

Crewing is also a huge job and so important to the walkers. Joel crewed last year. It was a lot of work, but he found it really rewarding. The organizers have leaders for each crew team, and your duties are clearly laid out. Crew members work all day, and get to camp with the walkers at night. A lot of work, but the walkers absolutely could not make it without the huge number of crew members. If you crew, you can also join our team - and you will be given a webpage to raise funds. Crew members are not required to raise any money.

If you have any questions about walking or fundraising, send me an email at valnye@gmail.com. I would be happy to answer any questions. My experience from last year is documented in this blog, but I would be happy to expand on my experience (if that is possible). Think about it, and join!

Ribbon Special Shape

While driving through Albuqueruqe on Thursday last week, during the Balloon Fiesta, I happened to see this balloon.


On 4 July 2006 this flying ribbon made his first flight in Torres (Brazil). The balloon is manufactured by Amazon Balloons and will be piloted by Randy Oates from Air America. With a volume of 3100 m³ this balloon can carry pilot + 3 passengers.

New York City

Walkers in New York raised $9.6 million in the Avon Walk this past weekend.

Avon Walk Again in 2007!

After thinking a lot about the 2007 walk, and talking with Susan, I have decided to walk again next June in Denver. My reasons for walking again weigh heavily on my mind.

The number one reason I am walking again is to raise money for women who desperately need support when diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is not necessarily a fatal illness. If caught early and treated properly, survival is highly possible and likely. Women without insurance or underinsured may not get the treatment they need when they need it most. It is at this point that the Avon Foundation can step in and provide valuable funding and services to help women and their families.

Awareness is another important reason to walk. If noticed and treated early, breast cancer can be beat in many situations. Awareness=survival.

Another reason I am walking is for my friends and family who have had cancer touch their lives. I am walking in support and love for them and all they have experienced and will experience.

I am also walking for myself, as a commitment to remain healthy and active.

I also want to celebrate health and friendship in 2007 - and I want to encourage you to walk with us. Susan and I are forming a team now, and I will have information about our team up shortly. We don't have a name yet, so join the team and help us come up with a team name!

If walking isn't your thing, consider crewing or volunteering. Crew members and volunteers make the walk possible. As a walker, the volunteers along the way were the kindest people, paving the way and making the 40 miles fly by quickly.

There are lots of ways to participate and change lives!

Training, fundraising, and walking are all hard work, but the reward is great!

Prayers to Beth and her Family

Harper, Eileen "Micki"
MADISON - Eileen "Micki" Harper died of multiple myeloma on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006, at the Ellen and Peter Johnson HospiceCare Residence. Micki was born in Oklahoma City, to Eileen (Kelly) and Ray J. Riordan. She grew up in La Crescent, Minn. and Madison, graduating from Blessed Sacrament Grade School, in 1956 and from Edgewood High School, in 1960. She earned a B.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1964. She attended secretarial school in Chicago for a year, then returned to Madison and worked for General Telephone Company from 1965 to 1968.

On June 29, 1968, she married Richard M. "Dick" Harper. She and Dick lived in Whitewater for several years before moving to Madison. She worked for the Wisconsin State Telephone Association from 1975 to 2000, coordinating conventions and managing human resources. She served on the Board of Directors for Nsight Telservices, Northeast Telephone Company, and Cellcom from 1984 until the time of her death.

Micki was active in local anti-abortion organizations throughout her life, serving as president of the local chapter of Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Life in the early 1970s, and as president of the Dane County chapter of Wisconsin Right to Life at the time of her death. She was also an active member of Blessed Sacrament Parish for more than 30 years, serving terms as president of its Rosary Altar Society and as secretary of its Parish Council among other volunteer activities.

She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth of Madison; son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Mara, granddaughter, Claire Harper, and an unborn grandchild due in February, of Savage, Minn.; brothers and sisters-in-law, Ray J. Riordan and Phyllis Riordan of Monona, Patrick D. and Karen V. Riordan of Dyckesville, Wis., and Robert H. and Cathy Riordan of Green Bay; nieces Brighid, Colleen, Kate, Kelly, Maria, Maureen, and Meghan Riordan and Phyllis (Eric) Gaukel; nephews, P. Daniel, Ray J., Robert and Timothy Riordan, and Philip, Nicholas, Andrew and Alexander Ribeiro; grandnephews and grandnieces, Owen, Finn and Charlotte; cousins, Ann (Pat) Colbert, Jim (Donna) Deuster and Paul (Lien) Deuster; and many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick; her parents; and her sister-in-law, Kathleen Riordan.

In addition to her family and friends, Micki loved sharing stories; her cats, Tommy and Tuppence; reading, especially mysteries (she could recommend a mystery to match anyone's interests, and loved spending time at the mystery bookstore Booked for Murder); and doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles. She was a great listener, a loyal friend, and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and sister. We'll miss her wit, infectious laugh, unconditional support and encouragement, warmth, sensible advice, empathy, and thoughtfulness.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 2131 Rowley Ave., Madison, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2006, at 11 a.m. Friends may call from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the JOYCE-RYAN FUNERAL HOME, 5071 Odana Rd, Madison, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2006, and from 10 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept 19, 2006, at the church. Memorials may be made to Wisconsin Right to Life-Dane County Education Fund, Blessed Sacrament School Endowment Fund or the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Foundation. Joyce-Ryan Funeral Home and Cremation Services 5701 Odana Road (608) 274-1000 www.ryanfuneralservice.com

Los Angeles

Walkers in Los Angeles walked this past weekend and raised over $3.6 million!

Albuquerque AIDS Walk

The AIDS Walk in Albuquerque went very well, and Team Kenny Vance raised $525! Thank you for your donations. The walker turnout for this walk was smaller than previous years, but organizers say the funding met their expectations. Thank you for helping to make a difference for people living in Albuquerque with AIDS.

Below is a picture of mom, Brenda, and Charlie. Charlie was the star of the show! Many people came up to us and wanted to know what kind of dog Charlie was. And he was a good walker. He walke almost the whole way!



Here is another dog on the walk.



We were near the end of the walking pack. Brenda had stopped to help a dog that was dehydrated. This is a picture of all the walkers going west on Central.

Last Year's AIDS Walk

Here are some photos from last year's walk in Albuquerque. Last year the walk started at UNM, went east on Central, and then turned back and ended UNM.

Walking for AIDS

Every year my sister, Brenda, and I do one AIDS walk. We walk for my Uncle Ken who died in 1988. This year the Albuquerque AIDS walk is on September 9th. One of the great things about the walk (if you don't have a dog) you can adopt a dog just for the walk. It is very exciting for dog lovers who don't have dogs! So think about joining us. Our team page is on this website:
http://www.active.com/donate/AWABQ2006/BNye2

This walk is a very short walk - a 5k (3 miles). We would love to have you join us!

End of Donations

I believe the final matching donation for the Avon walk has come in. With your generous help, we are donating $2585 to help people in very personal and life change ways! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hiking - a great idea!

Here is an article I got in my email today. Anyone want to join me!

Hikers raising cancer awareness along trail

NORTH ADAMS — Two hikers popped off the Appalachian Trail and into the city Tuesday on a journey to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Cousins Chad "Stretch" Anderson, 22, and Daane "Goat" DeBoer, 20, both of Grand Rapids, Mich., wore scraggly beards and T-shirts advertising the cause they titled "Hike for the cure."

"Four years ago, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer," Anderson said, "I saw her go through chemotherapy and radiation. I saw the pain and trial she went through and also the trial on me and my family. I don't want to see anyone else go through that."

Anderson said he felt helpless during his mother's illness and recovery process. He shaved his head in sympathy with his mother when she went through chemotherapy, but that was only a first step.

Now, he is taking four months to complete the 2,174-mile trail in order to increase breast cancer awareness.

To read the rest of the article visit this link.

News from San Francisco!

Over 2300 people walked in San Francisco on July 8th and 9th and raised over $5.4 million! To read how a portion the San Francisco funds will be spent, visit this web site.

Healthy Weight Important

It is increasingly clear that maintaining a healthy weight throughout adulthood is one of the best things women can do to protect themselves against breast cancer.

Findings from a study involving more than 87,000 female nurses show that weight gain during adulthood is a strong risk factor for breast cancer. Researchers also found that weight loss after menopause helped lower breast cancer risk.

Gaining 55 pounds or more after age 18 was associated with a 45% increase in breast cancer risk after menopause over women who maintained a healthy weight throughout their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

To read the entire article visit: http://www.webmd.com/content/article/124/115751.htm

Lunch Stop First Day

Photo from the Multiply Website.