LOS ANGELES, CA - May 8,
1999 - It's a Mother's Day event that some mothers and daughters were unable
to attend. Yes, the placards on the back of the runners and walkers said
it all. "I'm participating in memory of my 'Mom' or in honor of
my 'sister'." So many people who cared so much. They run or walk
in memory of or in honor of someone who has faced the battle
of breast cancer. Emotions ran freely, from enthusiasm to sorrow. There
was passion on the faces of each runner and walker participating along
the streets in Los Angeles. The finish line was flooded with those who
have completed their mission; some with tears streaming down their faces,
others with smiles and still those with somber expressions. They were young
and old, male and female. Those who participated included young mothers
with strollers, husbands, families, teenagers and the lone walker. There
was the fastest of runners and the determined patient who is still undergoing
chemotherapy.The 6th Annual Revlon Run/Walk sponsored by the Entertainment
Industry Foundation, (EIF), was held again this year at the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum. The event began in 1993 when Lilly Tartikoff, Co-Founder
of the Revlon Run/Walk for WomenTM and Dr. Dennis Slamon, UCLA met. This
event has raised nearly $10 million over the past six years to fund research
for breast and ovarian cancer. This year, record numbers both in dollars
and persons who participated were recorded. Last Saturday, $2.1 million
in pledges were received on the day of the race with an anticipated additional
$2 million to be received within the next thirty days. The total number
of registered walkers and runners was 43,000 with an additional 7000+ of
spectators, vendors and volunteers.
An event of this magnitude
takes astute planning and expertise. The Davis Group in Santa Monica has
a long history of putting on this event with EIF. They can surely be proud
of yet another successful event. There are many details that needed to
be tended to. The Davis Group recruits nearly 2000 volunteers that assist
not only the day of the race, but for weeks and months ahead of time. One
local group that volunteered was The International Order of the Rainbow
for Girls fro Diamond Bar Assembly #267. They worked at the finish line
to assist the runners and walkers as they completed the race. 
Celebrity host Dennis Franz
and his wife, Joanie, a breast cancer survivor, were amongst the celebrities
at the event. In an interview with Dennis and his wife, they think that
this event is a great cause and were there to support it. Other celebrities
included; Meg Tilly, Jose Solano, actress and breast cancer survivor Wendie
Jo Sperber, Meredith Baxter, Revlon Spokespersons and actresses Kim Delaney
and Halle Berry and musical entertainment by the Doobie Brothers. These
celebrities and others came to lend their support and name to this worthwhile
cause.
The beneficiaries include
Women's Information Network Against Breast Cancer (WIN ABC) which makes
its headquarters in Covina, California. Women's Information Network Against
Breast Cancer is a national non-profit organization that provides rapid
access to state-of-the-art information by disseminating educational materials
to breast cancer patients, their families and friends. Funds raised from
this event will be used to expand the Breast Buddy and Breast Aid Programs
for Indigent and Underserved throughout Los Angeles County.
Additional beneficiaries
included the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program, The Wellness
Community, Watts Health Foundation Mobile Mammography Center, USC/Norris
Comprehensive Cancer Center & Hospital Ovarian Program, Los Angeles
Breast Cancer Alliance, Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Program,
Women of Color Breast Cancer Survivors Support Project, and Little Company
of Mary Hospital Coordinated Breast Cancer Care Program.
Last year at the Revlon Run/Walk
for Women, the historical Breast Cancer Research Semi-Postal Stamp was
unveiled by the United States Postal Service and Ms. Tartikoff along with
Kelsey Grammer and Betsy Mullen, President/CEO of WIN ABC. This year the
Postal Service was a Co-Sponsor of the Revlon event and came to sell the
Breast Cancer Research semi-postal stamp. The postal service sold over
17,000-breast cancer research stamps that day alone. Two hundred million
stamps were printed for the two-year pilot program. An additional 89 million
stamps have been printed to date. During the first nine months of sales,
the United States Postal Service announced that this special fundraising
stamp had already raised $6 million for Breast Cancer Research. The funds
benefit the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense
Breast Cancer Research Program. If the stamp proves successful by June
of 2000, it could "stick around" as a permanent postal "affixer" and its
effectiveness will be able to continue to provide a viable source of much
needed research dollars to help eradicate breast cancer. |
