Register now for the 16th Annual Susan G. Komen Northwest Ohio Race for the Cure® that will take place on Sunday, September 27, 2009, in downtown Toledo. The 5k run/walk ends with a celebration and ceremony at Fifth Third Field. This year the race course that debuted last year begins downtown at Monroe and Summit Streets, travels throughout the central business district, the Warehouse district and a portion of the Old South End by the train station.
Participants are encouraged to sign up early. To register for the Race and to view the new Race course go to www.komennwohio.org.
Funds raised by the Race for the Cure® benefit the Northwest Ohio affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure which awards grants to area organizations offering a variety of community based breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment programs for the medically underserved throughout our 24 county service area. Last year’s race raised over $800,000.
Each year special tribute is paid to two courageous individuals who serve as inspiration to others by recognizing them as the “In Celebration of” honoree and “In Memory of” honoree.
This year the ICO honor goes to Kathryn Ann Thompson. Kathy is a three time breast cancer survivor. She was first diagnosed at the age of 34. She went through treatment and remained in remission until age 42 when the cancer returned. Now at age 53 she learned that once again she must wage the fight against the disease for a third time. She has always been a fighter, and is a great inspiration to the many family and friends that surround her. She has been a strong supporter of the Race for the Cure for many years. She is employed by the Kroger Company where she is a manager. She encourages Kroger employees to participate on their team and has worked the Kroger table at the Race for the last 14 years. She takes great pride in being a part of this cause. She gives a vision of hope and strength and a reason to fight.
This year’s IMO honoree is Leslie Droll of both Findlay and Fostoria, Ohio. Leslie was an extraordinary woman who courageously fought breast cancer for fourteen years until she passed away in July of 2008. From the first day of diagnosis she fought breast cancer with a smile on her face and fire in her heart. She devoted her life to educating people about cancer and proved that a positive attitude and a purpose driven life can help fight cancer as well as any drug. She wrote a book entitled ‘When You Get It’ to reach out to other cancer survivors, sharing her life, her experiences, photographs, and poetry with all and took every opportunity to speak publicly about breast cancer. She started a support group, the Lunch Bunch; she became a mentor and an inspiration to many. She counseled newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and worked hand-in-hand with oncologists to help them understand cancer from a patient’s standpoint. She viewed each day as a gift and lived every day as though it were her last. Her positive spirit and drive to make the world a better place made a mark on everyone she came in contact with.
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982 that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement.
Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, nearly $1 billion has been invested to fulfill the promise of becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.
In 1999, the Northwest Ohio Affiliate was officially established and supports the 17 Ohio counties of Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Van Wert, Williams, and Wood, and the county of Monroe, Michigan. This year the service area has been expanded to the counties of Crawford, Huron, Logan, Seneca, Shelby, and Wyandot
The national sponsors of The Race include Yoplait, American Airlines, Bank of America, Coldwater Creek, Ford, FUZE, Mott’s, New Balance and ReMax.
For information on the Komen Northwest Ohio affiliate, please visit www.komennwohio.org. or call 419-724-CURE. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-800-I’M AWARE.
