Virtual Walk for Breast Cancer

Yesterday I found out that Dorit Shapiro, the President of the Gal to Gal Foundation and long-time friend of my friend Margie lost her fight against Breast Cancer.  I’ve met Dorit at several parties at Margie’s house and, despite living with Stage IV breast cancer for more than 3 years, she remained positive and upbeat.  She leaves behind a husband and 2 children, ages 4 & 8.

This morning Margie forwarded me an email from Dorit that she received before she died, from which comes the following:

Dear Family, Friends, and Colleagues

As many of you already know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this year is the third anniversary of my diagnosis with stage IV/metastatic breast cancer.  During the month of October, so much of the focus is on prevention and research for a cure; however, nearly 300,000 women each year live with the effects of stage IV/metastatic breast cancer and an unknown future.

Last year, the Gal to Gal Foundation embarked on a ground-breaking fundraising campaign to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  The Gal to Gal Foundation sponsored a virtual walk across America, visiting more than 31 cities from Boston to San Francisco.  For a small donation, about the same price as a cup of coffee, participants could create their own virtual walker—and pick their eye color, hair color, and outfit and write why they were supporting the cause.  All proceeds from the walk went directly to charities that support women with stage IV breast cancer and their families, including the fulfillment of their wishes for special vacations or help with medical bills. To date, Gal to Gal has granted nearly $100,000 for the fulfillment of wishes for women with stage IV breast cancer through our partnership with the Making Memories Foundation.  This year we are also teaming up with Living Beyond Breast Cancer and the Young Survival Coalition, sponsoring the Advanced Breast Cancer track for the 9th Annual Conference for Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer.  Our involvement in sponsoring educational programs for women with stage IV breast cancer furthers our mission to help an often overlooked population of women in need of support

(snip)

You can sign up to participate in the virtual walk by visiting: http://www.galtogalwalk.org

This year, my Gal is featured prominently on the home page, walking with celebrities like Larry King, Stephen Covey, Kim Zimmer and Marg Helgenberger.  I hope you will join me in the virtual walk and join “Team Shapiro” when you register.  This year, when you register, you can join a team on the same screen where you type your short story about why you are joining the walk.  I would love for Team Shapiro to be the largest team participating in this year’s walk.  I hope you will join Jeff, Mara, Leah and I as we walk across America to remind the world that there are women and families that live with the effects of breast cancer every day and for whom a cure is not possible

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to any friends and family you feel may be interested in joining the walk.

With Love and Gratitude,
Dorit

I’ve already signed up with Team Shapiro and my walker is named “Mindi”.  Please join me and other women to help raise money for The Gal To Gal Foundation by visiting The Virtual Walk website, choosing your walker and making a donation of $5.