It is an honor to be the new Volunteer Director of Teams. I have been a Making Strides Volunteer for 20 years, in various roles, including event chair, director of logistics but most importantly, a team leader. I understand the challenges and joys of leading a team. I appreciate the time, commitment and energy of our team leaders. I also know the camaraderie, feeling of community and the important impact of being part of making a difference in the lives of people diagnosed with breast cancer. I think our teams are the heart of Making Strides and I have enjoyed working with all of the teams this year.
STORIES OF HOPE
Team Leaders were invited to share their why, what motivates them to be a team leader. Some are shared here, and more can be read online at theconcordinsider.com.
Jason Phelps of Londonderry
Team: SUrvivors rule!
“We Stride because each one of us remembers cancer taking time and people from our families. Fighting back is the only logical reaction, and through events like these we can take our frustrations out to productive ends. We know every dollar we help raise changes the future for someone affected by cancer, and that is all we need to keep at it.
Helping coordinate our band of merry cancer fighters continues to be and honor and a privilege, especially as a cancer survivor. My fight includes helping others channel their energy into reducing suffering and saving lives. It feels like a super power.”
Jennifer Fredette of Brentwood
Team: Marvelously pink
“As a recent breast cancer survivor, doing this walk every year is the least of what I can do to spread awareness for the disease and raise money doing so. Too many women in my life have been effected.”
Jessica Allison of Bow
Team: Bow Bosom Buddies
“On February 13, 2019 I was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma. At 31 years old, I was shocked. All I remember thinking was that this doesn’t happen to women so young, but it did and it does; advocating for myself was critical in my care process. Sharing my story now has inspired other young women to do the same. Through Making Strides, I have met an incredible support network of many survivors who have lifted me up on dark days. I have hope that our fundraising will help fund the research that will continue to advance treatments and maybe one day find a cure.”
Kelly Rawnsley of Milford
Team: I’ve never walked alone
“I did my first Making Strides walk in October of 2017 after being diagnosed in March of 2017. I am a 6 year survivor and lost my maternal aunt and maternal grandmother to breast cancer. I will spend the rest of my days doing my part in raising funds to help support this mission!”
Terri King of Hopkinton
Team: Sister survivors
“When Making Strides first started my sister Tracey wanted to join a team and little did we know she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Ever since then our family has had many diagnosed with breast cancer. I have been a team leader for over 20 plus years in hopes that one day there will be a cure.”
Kathy Stone of Concord
Team: Northeast Delta Dental
“My employer, Northeast Delta Dental has been supporting Making Strides Against Breast Cancer for more than 20 years and the way that I got involved with the walk, is a co-worker invited me to walk with her. I was a brand-new employee living an hour north of Concord and didn’t know anything about the walk. I will never forget the first time that I stepped onto the field. It was a vision of pink but it was something in the details that grabbed my spirit. The space of the venue felt welcoming, supportive, caring, celebratory, and dedicated to the cause.
This day sparked memories for me that I had suppressed for years. I was 10 years old when my father at the age of 36 passed away from cancer and it wasn’t until I was an adult that I truly began to understand the emotions and fears my parents must have had receiving the cancer diagnosis, what treatment would look like and how to care for their 5 children ages newborn to 12 years old. I was too young to even understand what support or resources that were received.
And so, this day 18 years ago, sparked a new passion and commitment and a way that I honor my father. I support the American Cancer Society and their mission. To improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat and survive cancer.”
Emily Laro of Concord
Team: Soldiering On
“I started as a participant of Making Strides 23 years ago, when I was 7 years old. As the years went on, I grew from being just a participant to volunteering and now co-leading Team Soldiering On with my mom. Making Strides is such a fun and powerful event to celebrate those we love who have lost their battle and those who continue to fight. Leading a team allows me to share my passion and include people I love in a life changing movement. We raise funds and spread awareness in hopes to one day find a cure, so that I never have to hear the words “I have Breast Cancer” from one of their mouths.”
Katie Detty of Manchester
Team: Surviving for two
“Our team started participating in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in 2015 after I completed treatment for Triple Negative Breast Cancer while pregnant with my son and Co-Survivor Levi. We are dedicated to fundraising for continued research of a cure and support of those fighting cancer.”
Tiffany Nolin of Pittsfield
Team: Concord Pediatrics
“We both have had people in our lives diagnosed with breast cancer, and we’ve lost people to this disease. We are driven by those losses. We are inspired by the survivors, many who use American Cancer Society’s support services and benefit from their research. We are grateful to be part of a community that fights for a cure while raising a ton of money!”
Donna Wilbur of Concord
Team: Healing hearts
“Cancer survivors motivate me to be a team leader! Healing Hearts is a team brought together by a shared diagnosis of cancer. When diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, survivor’s share unspeakable fears, but also share the hope, the passion, and the commitment to make a difference. At Making Strides we will celebrate our survivorship and embrace the spirit and camaraderie of the day.
My belief in the American Cancer Society and their mission to improve the lives of people with cancer and to lead the fight for a world without cancer motivates me to be a team leader!!! I sincerely believe the research of the American Cancer Society will one day end cancer … and I hope it is soon.”
Joanne Worthen of Hampstead
Team: Barbara Strong
My sister, Barbara, has been cancer-free for 3 years! The Making Strides Walk is important to our family, to help raise awareness and money to help end Breast Cancer! Please Donate today!
Irene Alton of Amherst
Team: Team Alton
“On Dec. 16, 2015 my life was directly affected by Breast Cancer. I will NEVER forget those words, ‘I am sorry to tell you, but you have Breast Cancer.’ It has been a long road, from diagnosis to treatment to recovery to being a survivor. Breast cancer has been a journey I never planned or asked for, but I chose to love life, hate the disease and fight. And fight is what I have done ever since!
That’s why I, along with my family as Team Alton, has joined forces with Making Strides Against Breast Cancer since 2015 to honor survivors and thrivers, remember those we’ve lost, and offer up support to anyone in ourcommunity who’s been affected by it.
The funds we raise help sustain critical research and provide services for people trying to cope with their breast cancer experience. Believe me, I am living proof that every dollar really does count. Without the funding for research and new treatments, I would not be alive today. I would love for you to join Team Alton by either walking with us or donating to Team Alton to help support this cause. Together, we can make a big difference in the fight against Breast Cancer.”
Angela VanSteensburg of Laconia
Team: Under their Wings
“The Making Strides annual Breast Cancer Walk is a huge part of my family’s life. It was an honor to walk along side my sister and mom who were both breast cancer survivors. My mom and sister both lost their battle with breast cancer in 2019 just 5 months apart. It is my goal to continue leading the team to let their legacy live on and hope to one day have a cure.”
Lisa Richards of Bow
Team: Bow Garden Club
“We are committed to joining Making Strides and the American Cancer Society in funding research and treatment for breast cancer. Sadly, we lost a special member of our club to metastatic breast cancer this year, and will walk with Melissa’s presence in our hearts. Our club members are proud to continue the tradition of planting the chrysanthemums in the Garden of Hope.”
