August 1, 2008

Willow Glen women walk 40 miles in San Francisco Raising money for
breast cancer

By Carol Rosen
Editor

A team of 11 women - less one of the original 12 who had to drop out due to a twisted ankle - took the challenge to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer beginning July 12 and walk 40 miles around San Francisco.

A team of 11 women from Willow Glen took the challenge to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer beginning July 12 and walk 40 miles around San Francisco.

Elva Acevedo was among the members of Team Willow Glen Walkers, who began training earlier this year, and her business, Elva’s Coffee Stop on Lincoln Avenue was the point where team members met, worked out a strategy and began their training sessions.

“My sister, who is a transplant recipient, got breast cancer a year ago,” said Acevedo. “She is only able to do radiation because of her transplant. After 26 miles I was really hurting, I even got delirious. But every time I though I couldn’t go on I though about my sister. Walking 40 miles did hurt, but it was just swelling, blisters and aches, and I knew they would go away.”

Four walkers stayed together throughout the walk: Acevedo, Cheryll Getsinger, Janet Fouts and C.J. Brasiel. The team also was comprised of Elizabeth, Katherine and Kaye Aghassi, Charlotte Doudell, Christine Giambrone, Merry Kogel, Corina Ramirez and Tina Spence. Together they raised more than $20,000 exceeding the team’s expectations.

“We were required to raise $1,800 each and we did quite well,” said Acevedo.

The event itself was a tremendous success, with 3,200 participants—including 290 breast cancer survivors—from 39 states raising $7.5 million to advance access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. Among the new initial grants made from the monies collected are a $1.49 million grant to support two research projects at UC San Francisco; $1.15 million to support a mobile mammography van, a high risk genetic clinic, and community outreach and breast cancer research programs at San Francisco General Hospital; $590,000 to Alameda County Medical Center for Pathfinders Outreach and Cancer Navigation programs at Highland Hospital; and $500,000 to UC California to support a partnership between the Avon Foundation and the California Breast Cancer Research program for three pilot breast cancer research projects. Smaller grants went to the Charlotte Maxwell Complemen-tary Clinic, Project Open Hand in San Francisco and Zero Breast Cancer in San Rafael.

At the same time, U.S. Army soldiers and civilian contractors joined together at Camp Taji, Iraq for the fourth annual Mini Avon Walk. This is a one-day event this year involving 176 women and 140 men who covered a distance of five kilometers.

“The ‘Mini Avon Walk’ in Iraq is an extraordinary event, all the more special because it was developed as a grassroots movement among the soldiers themselves,” stated Carol Kurzig, executive director of the Avon Foundation. “We are enormously proud that our service men and women have chosen to align with the Avon Foundation in the fight against breast cancer, and we hope every one of the participants returns home safely.”

Even though they were tired, blistered and sore, the Willow Glen team truly enjoyed their walk. “It was awesome,” said Acevedo, the walk was lined with support groups, who had a much harder job than we did. They cheered us on, passed out water and really made us feel good. “

In addition, there were members of the San Jose Police Department patrolling the walk on bicycles. In the past, the walk started in San Jose and finished in San Francisco. When the route was changed the SJPD asked to continue to patrol.

“San Jose bike cop support [was fantastic]. I can’t count the number of times I heard people say how great the police support was, as well as the motorcycle support crew, the volunteers and just plain people on the sidewalks were. As we walked down the streets people put out banners and balloons, waved from their windows, honked their horns, handed out water or snacks and generally supported in any way they could,” Fouts reported on her Blog.

Fouts also reported that the “entire experience was emotionally uplifting, exhausting, amazing and wonderful. CJ and I walked together with Elva almost the entire walk, and it was a lot of fun to see all of the people who came up to her to say hi and cheer on our local celebrity. One of her biggest fan clubs is (of course) the San Jose volunteer policemen who had a huge impact on the walk itself. These gals and guys were on their bikes traveling back and forth the entire route and making sure everybody was safe, having fun and encouraging us to keep moving forward. They really gave San Jose a good name and more than once helped us shlog up yet another hill with their cheering and teasing. I’m guessing that each of them did more than 50 miles/day on those bikes.”

In her Blog, Fouts thanked the team’s supporters. “I can’t express how much we appreciated the support of each and every donor who supported us financially and by helping us raise funds for this walk.”

Training for the teams began in January, and it looks like they might do it again next year. Acevedo is all pumped though, she’s already entered the walk on Sept. 12-13 in Los Angeles, perhaps it’s because after the first day her husband offered to take her out for dinner to a great restaurant “followed by a walk.”

About the Walk
The Avon Walk San Francisco is a noncompetitive event in which women and men had a choice of walking a marathon (26.2 miles) or a marathon and a half (39.3 miles) over the weekend. The event kicked off Saturday, July 12, with an inspirational early morning Opening Ceremony at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park. Following the Ceremony, walkers traveled through the Bay Area, across the Golden Gate Bridge and through Marin, concluding at the Avon Walk “Wellness Village” at Crissy Field in the Presidio, a “tent city” complete with two-person tents, hot showers, prepared meals, entertainment and recreational activities such as the Reebok sneaker personalization station and the Fiji water pink carpet photo program. On Sunday, July 13, walkers completed another 13.1 miles together, ending back at Speedway Meadow for a celebratory Closing Ceremony.

To participate in the Avon Walk San Francisco, each walker raised a minimum of $1,800 in donations. Funds raised are managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation [a 501(c)(3) public charity] and awarded to local, regional and national breast cancer organizations to support five areas of the breast cancer cause, including awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, access to treatment, support services, and scientific research, all with a focus on the medically underserved.  Donations are still being accepted for the Avon Walk San Francisco, and registration is still open for the remaining 2008 Avon Walks: Los Angeles, (Sept. 13-14); New York (Oct. 4-5); and Charlotte, NC (Oct. 25-26). Already concluded are the Avon Walks for Breast Cancer Houston, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago and Rocky Mountains, Colo.