Beach Bites
BY Staff
HEALTH: Think Pink
Combating breast cancer to save lives is what breast cancer awareness is all about.
Heres something nobody wants to read though everybody should: In 2009 there were 194 280 new cases of breast cancer and a total of 40 610 estimated deaths from breast cancer alone. For women breast cancer is the second leading cause of death by cancer (lung cancer wins that terrible competition) which translates to this sad fact: One in every eight women (12 percent) will develop some form of breast cancer.
Pink Ribbon the international breast cancer awareness organization is fighting to lower that number. Their mission is to create worldwide awareness of breast cancer provide education about breast cancer promote and focus research and assist any charitable organizations associated with breast cancer. The Pink Ribbon project created in 1998 has raised more than $1 000 000 thanks to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Foundations events and donations.
This year because of the generosity of countless donors and volunteers NHRMC Foundation is retiring their Coastal Care Van. They have updated and expanded the list of caretakers and now have considerably more approved places for women to visit doctors. The money that would have been going towards gas and payment for drivers can now be used to help the underinsured and the uninsured says NHRMC Foundation special events officer Tracey Kellogg.
There are 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States alone and the Pink Ribbon Project helps this number grow every year.
Where does the money come from to help fight breast cancer in New Hanover County? Here are some of the events that are raising the bar:
Ta Ta Sisterhood of the Cape Fear
To raise awareness and funds to directly help women in the Cape Fear area who are going through the different stages of breast cancer is the mission statement for Lauren Levian and Gale Calloway both survivors of breast cancer who came together to create a calendar of local women in different stages of breast cancer. The beautiful photographs (taken by WBM director of photography Allison Breiner Potter) are of women of all races 27-67 years old posed in natural settings or local places. Each woman has her age name and statement on her page. Levian and Calloway hope to raise $7 000 from the sale of the calendars. Only 1 000 calendars were printed. Theyre available on their website www.tatasisterscapefear.com for $20. We just wanted to show people the beauty of survival says Levian.
Angies Amazing Race
Angie Holiday lost her battle against breast cancer in 2006. To honor and remember her Charlie McGee and all of Angies Angels will host the Cape Fear Coasts coolest scavenger hunt which begins and ends at Britt Motor Sports on Market Street: the fifth annual Angies Amazing Race. The cost is $25 a person a fee that includes a t-shirt clue sheet door prizes and lunch which is served when everyone returns after the hunt. Live and silent auctions a raffle and door prizes will be awarded. This years prizes include an autographed Paula Dean cookbook pearl bracelets and rings a $150 car detail from Stevenson Auto and much more. Angies Angels have raised nearly $100 000 over the past four years for the Pink Ribbon Project. When we started this it began as an event in memory of Angie but it has developed into a completely different organization to celebrate life in general. We have a great committee of men and women Im so proud of them says McGee.
Buy a Chick. Save a Life.
Throughout the month of October the restaurants and boutiques in The Forum will be selling five-foot-tall cut-outs of stylish pink chicks for $125 the cost of a mammogram. Debbie Elliott president of Talk Inc. is working with Swain and Associates to raise Pink Chick money for Pink Ribbon. Last year the Pink Chick project raised $13 125. Elliotts goal this year is to sell 150-200 Pink Chicks. The Pink Ribbon project does such an incredible service to our community and all of The Forum shops are very proud to hold the Pink Ribbon parade to help raise awareness for Pink Ribbon. We hope that this becomes a very important part of every year says Elliott. For more information and a Pink Chick of your very own visit
www.pinkchickparade.com
Tri-Sports Mayfaire 5k
On Saturday October 2 Tri-Sports will host their second 5k to raise money for the local Pink Ribbon project. Last year they raised $7 000. This year their sights are set on $20 000. Prizes will be awarded for 1st-3rd place with the largest prize being $1 000. We decided to do a 5k in Mayfaire to benefit a local cause and we know a lot of people have been touched by cancer in one way or another says Richard Fay manager of Tri-Sports of Wilmington.
13th Annual Pink Ribbon Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
The 13th annual NHRMC Foundation Pink Ribbon Breakfast Lunch and Dinner will be held on Thursday October 7 at the Holiday Inn Resort in Wrightsville Beach. Breakfast is at 7:30 a.m. and costs $55 lunch is at 11:30 a.m. and costs $100 and dinner is at 6:30 p.m. and is $125. Last year the event raised $187 000 and Tracey Kellogg hopes to surpass that amount this year. The money will be used to provide women with education about early detection as well as help pay for underinsured and uninsured women to receive mammograms. Were really excited about the continued support of our sponsors and our communitys support that helps us raise money and help these women says Kellogg.
Save these Dates
October 1-31: Go to any restaurant or boutique in The Forum to purchase your five-foot-tall Pink Chick and help fight breast cancer. Visit www.pinkchickparade.com for more information.
October 1-31: Go to any Lumina Station store to buy a ribbon and tie it to the trees outside to support the Pink Ribbon Project.
October 2: The Tri-Sports 5k run in Mayfaire Town Center. Contact Tri-Sports of Wilmington (910) 256-2395.
October 3: Angies Amazing Race sponsored by Britt Motor Sports. Visit www.angiesamazingrace.com for more information.
October 7: The 13th Annual Pink Ribbon Breakfast Lunch and Dinner will be held at the Holiday Inn Resort in Wrightsville Beach.
October 13: Country Club of Landfall Pink Ribbon Tennis Tournament (open to all female Country Club of Landfall members)
October 14: Country Club of Landfall Pink Ribbon Golf Tournament (open to all female Country Club of Landfall members)
October 15: UNCW Communication Studies Society will host its fourth annual Rock for the Cure breast cancer benefit concert from 7-10 p.m. at The Reel Caf. http://student.uncw.edu/rockforthecure
October 19: Pine Valley Country Club Womens Golf Association (members only) Golf Tournament and Luncheon
October 19: Magnolia Greens Womens Golf Association (members only) Steel Magnolias Play for Pink Tournament and Awards Banquet
Amanda Thames
Music: Wilmington Symphony Orchestra Teams up with Sister Hazel
At the second annual Chords for a Cause benefit concert the popular upbeat alternative rock band Sister Hazel named for a nun who ran a homeless shelter in Gainesville Florida the bands hometown will play a Port City concert that promises to be something extra special because they will share the stage with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra.
Chords for a Cause was founded in 2009 by Wilmington cardiologist (and musician) Dr. Damian Brezinski. I played my way through a number of forgettable bands but I found my niche says Brezinski. Last year the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations first benefit concert was headlined by Edwin McCain and raised $250 000 resulting in the purchase of a mobile pediatric intensive care unit. The Sister Hazel concert will benefit Mission Ready an organization that collects unused medical supplies in the United States and transports them to nations around the world in desperate need.
The United States is the only country that has expiration dates for their medical supplies says Brezinski. Medical supplies like gauze for instance. Gauze can be a lifesaver in Africa says Brezinski. During a previous mission trip to Africa volunteers ran out of gauze in two weeks and had to cut strips of newspaper to use during surgery.
Chords for a Cause is a great example of how a grassroots organization can make a big impact both locally and around the world says Carolyn Fisher manager of NHRMC marketing and public relations. The Sister Hazel Chords for a Cause concert will be held on Saturday October 23 at 8 p.m. in Kenan Auditorium on the UNCW campus. Pre-sale tickets are available through E-Tix and are $40. For more information contact the Kenan Auditorium box office at (910) 962-3500. Ashley Peel
Nature: Movie Highlights the Red Drum
Dangerous gill nets are depleting their populations but what can be done?
Pop quiz: Can you name the North Carolina State Fish? Times up. Its the red drum. In fact 97 percent of the countrys supply of red drum comes from our great state. Which begs the troubling question: Why are we letting our red drum population become so depleted that in the near future it may not be here at all? The demise of our red drum would be not only environmentally destructive but also a significant economic setback for North Carolina and its fishermen.
Fortunately for the red drum a team of dedicated folks is fighting for its restoration. Captain Seth Vernon of Double Haul Guide Service and a group of local filmmakers and musicians have made a documentary film about the red drum and its struggle entitled Red Fish Cant Jump.
Its about following the science of the matter says Vernon. What I mean by that is if we just pay attention to what nature tells us that the red drum is a very aggressive fish when it comes to reproduction they could bounce back fast if we stepped back followed the right guidelines and let them recover.
So whats hurting the red drum? The immediate answer is over-fishing. North Carolina is one of the few states in the South that still permits the use of gill nets which not only capture red drum in high numbers but also entangle endangered sea turtles dolphins and more. South Carolina Florida and Georgia have outlawed gill nets without detriment to their commercial fishing industry. This past May the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission revised regulations to address interactions with sea turtles in the states gill net fishery though the new regulations will not apply to run-around strike or drop nets that are used to surround a school of fish and then are immediately retrieved.
Another threat is thoughtless behavior such as allowing nets to drift freely unattended in the ocean or catching red drum (and other fish) that because of state measurement guidelines are too small to keep and keeping them anyway reducing the chance of population recovery.
No one is against commercial fishing says Vernon. We just want rules to be followed and laws to be made and upheld before it is too late. If we ignore the situation and deplete our fish populations then a lot of North Carolinians who make a living catching fish will be out of a job. Justin Jacobs