"With every step, we only get stronger”
By ELLYN SANTIAGO
Committed to finding a breast cancer cure by funding research, the work of the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation can’t be done without community support. Businesses and individuals, groups and clubs, and even big-hearted students, whose events, walks, and promotions greatly help fund vital research. Recently, the following four groups raised, in total, $25,000 for TBBCF.
100 Women Who Care
100 Women Who Care, North Central Connecticut, is a charitable giving circle. The group meets quarterly, and members hear from three nonprofits; they then vote and pool their donations for the chosen nonprofit. In May, 100 Women Who Care, North Central Connecticut presented TBBCF with a $3,800 check. TBBCF Operations Director Kate Davis, who accepted the award, thanked the group, noting its grant “will go directly to breast cancer research. Focusing on research and a cure keeps HOPE in the forefront of everything that we do.”
Clark Lane Middle School
“With every step, we only get stronger.” Students and educators from Clark Lane Middle School again walked to raise money for TBBCF. Since 2007, teacher Jay Gionet combined philanthropy and middle school mathematics to give kids a real-world lesson. They held their first walk-a-thon to raise money for breast cancer research in 2007, then at East Lyme Middle School. “The students had no idea how a walk-a-thon worked. Or how this went together mathematically.” So, he showed them. The 2024 walk was a success, and on June 13, a $12,000 check was presented to TBBCF. Five-hundred and fifty students walked. Twenty-eight school staff members walked. The total number of miles walked was 3,452. The highest amount raised by one student was $2,020. This is the kind of math we support! Read more about the middle school walks to help find a cure for breast cancer here.
Old Saybook High School Cancer Walk
In early May, more than 100 Old Saybrook High School students walked to raise money for TBBCF and the Connecticut Cancer Foundation. The student cancer walk was organized by students Connor Cassella, Leo Gilman, Parker Cook, Aiden Ladd, and Benjamin Freeburg. It featured music, games, and food and raised more than $10,000 in total, with a donation of $5,200 for TBBCF.
Buttonwood Farm Ice Cream
On May 12, Buttonwood Farm again held its annual Mother's Day ice cream fundraiser honoring mothers and raising money for breast cancer research. Each year, 100 percent of each sundae purchased goes directly to TBBCF. Kim and Duane Button, owners of Buttonwood Farm, which may be best known for its annual summer display of acres of sunflowers, raised $4,000 this year for TBBCF.
The Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation is endlessly grateful for the community support it receives in its mission to spend every dollar it's granted on research that will one day find a cure.