**Giveaway is closed. Congratulations to Jennifer!**
By the time you read this I'll have been walking for several hours in my second breast cancer 3 day. I'll be with my mom, the new friends I've met through the message boards and 3,798 other people united in finding a cure for breast cancer.
By the time you read this I'll have been walking for several hours in my second breast cancer 3 day. I'll be with my mom, the new friends I've met through the message boards and 3,798 other people united in finding a cure for breast cancer.
My Facebook friends might remember me asking for positive thoughts a few weeks ago. I wrote an essay on why the 3 Day is important to me and sent it in to Toe Sox. They are a local company with a team who will be walking too. They posted a $500 scholarship contest on the 3 Day message boards. The winner would have the money posted into their 3 Day account to help with fundraising.
I decided to enter at the last minute. I honestly didn't think I had much of a chance. My inner voice told me there would be so many touching stories submitted from people who had lost someone and that their reasons for walking were so much more personal and real than mine. But fundraising was so hard this year I figured there was no harm in trying. This is my submission:
This year is my mom's 10th breast cancer 3 day walk. I'm so happy I get to share it with her. She's the reason I got involved with the 3 Day. I've been her Pink Pitt Crew since the 3 Day moved down to San Diego. For years I spent the entire weekend following her through the route. I'd spend the day cheering for the walkers, passing out stickers, mints or baby wipes and I'd run to the store if Mom needed BenGay or hairspray. When my son was old enough I started taking him with me. We've had a blast! He knows what the 3 Day is and why the cause is important to us.
Mom and I see some of the same people and teams year after year. Team I Hope You Dance walks for Cindy who died in 2000. And there's a woman who always wears a pink bra on her head and carries a neon pink sign that reads, "my sister says thank you." One man, The Smile Guy, lost his wife to breast cancer. He's been bringing his daughter, Little Grin, to the walk to hand out buttons since she was in an infant car seat. It's been bittersweet watching her grow. Year after year these people walk or cheer because they've been touched by breast cancer.
2008 and 2009 walks |
After a few years of cheering I decided I wanted to be more involved. I volunteered for the 2008 3 Day and was lucky enough to work the closing ceremonies. I showed up in my pink pants, feather boa and wig ready to help wherever I was needed. I got a choice assignment: I'd be handing out the pink roses and T-shirts to the walkers as they took their last steps of 60 miles. I spent the day cheering, laughing, hugging, taking pictures and crying. And crying.
One team of eight walkers moved through the tunnel. Five women picked up their white walker shirts and waited across the finish line for another woman and a man I assumed to be her husband. She picked up her pink survivor shirt and pulled it on to the cheers of her team. She raised her arms and tilted her face to the sky, laughing and smiling. But in an instant, she did a complete 180 and broke down, sobbing. The man wrapped his arms around her and then the rest of the team made a circle around them. All of them were in tears. It's a moment I'll never forget and I cry when I tell people about it.
That moment, watching her and imaging the hell she must have gone through to get there, was the reason I decided to do my first walk in 2009. During that walk, I saw a young girl of about 8 holding a sign that read, "I never knew my Grandma and she never knew me." I took a picture of her and it's stayed with me. I think that message is why I decided to walk again this November.
I'll be walking the 2010 3 Day for the survivors, the fighters and the angels. I'll walk for my Godmother, Margie who died in 2005. I'll walk for my best friend Debbie's mother who died in 1997. I'll walk for the woman I heard in a radio interview last week who needs grants from Komen to afford the $8400 monthly prescription for the drugs that are keeping her alive. I'll walk because I have my breasts and they are healthy. I'll walk to continue showing my son what it means to do something bigger than ourselves.
Breast cancer is a monster. It's attacking mothers, wives, sisters, aunts, cousins, best friends and even husbands and fathers. The money we walkers raise is needed. It funds research, mammograms, grants and education. Without that money, the monster will thrive. I walk to slay the monster. I walk because I can.
I'm so glad I ignored my doubts and sent in an essay because I won! I got the email and literally screamed. Talk about a huge weight lifted. I was worried I would have to back out. I'm so happy and grateful to have made my goal and not had to stress about it these last few weeks that I decided to have a 'thank you' giveaway.
I really do appreciate all the support and donations. I would not be able to walk without all of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Now for the giveaway. For one winner, Hanes has given me two of their Hanes Pink Collection shirts designed by actress Melina Kanakaredes and a $50 gift card to Hanes.com.
I've received a few pairs of Hanes socks at Blissdom and BlogHer and they are some of the most comfortable I've ever worn.
How do you win? Easy:
1. Leave a comment on this post telling me how breast cancer has touched you, if you learned anything new during breast cancer awareness month or if you've had a mammogram ('enter me!' and 'I want to win!' aren't gonna cut it). This is required.
2. I MUST have a way to get in touch with you! I will have to delete comments with no contact info.
3. I'll leave this up for awhile since I won't be home for a few days. Comments will close on Tuesday, November 23rd at 11:59pm CA time.
4. I will use random.org to draw the winner and post the results/notify winners via email and Twitter.
5. For two extra entries: (not required) Tweet, and/or blog about this contest and leave each of your links in a separate comment (three contest entry opportunities total). You will need a free Twitter account.
6. If the notified winner has not responded within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.
6. If the notified winner has not responded within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen.
7. You do not have to follow or subscribe to this blog as a method of entry (but you're more than welcome to!). Tweet as often as you like, but only one Tweet will count as an extra entry. Leave one comment for each entry. Here is the URL to this post: http://bit.ly/HanesPinkGiveaway
8. The shirts will be mailed by the agency for Hanes and I will send the gift card. The gift card expires on December 31, 2010!!
Thank you to Hanes for supplying the giveaway items! Good luck!