Three women from Springfield Township are ready to lace their sneakers as they walk for breast cancer.
The Pink Sparties, as they call themselves, travel to Boston for a 39 mile walk on May 15 and 16 for the Avon Foundation.
Kerry Gualtieri saw information about the walk in Shape magazine and called her neighbor and neighbor Kelly Kujala telling her about it, since they did a triathlon last year in Chicago for breast cancer.
Gualtieri spread the word to Katy Nicosia, who called her sister-in-law in Boston, who was a survivor. All three decided out of the nine locations the walk was happening – Boston was the place they needed to do it.
They began walking for breast cancer because because of friends and families. Also, as teachers – Gualtieri teaches seventh grade at Sashabaw Middle School, Nicosia is a speech teacher at the SPICE program and Kujala teaches at Adams Elementary in Waterford. They all had students with parents going through it or had survived it.
‘We care about our students beyond the years we have them,? said Gualtieri, a Sashabaw Middle School seventh grade teacher. ‘You always hope the best for people and this is our way of helping out.?
Gualtieri’s voice filled with sadness as she thought back to a student she once had whose mom was diagnosed for the time with breast cancer and she went to the funeral at Christmas time.
‘I got another call from another parent, she was also diagnosed for the second time,? she noted. ‘We have a neighbor who is a survivor of 12 years. It is too close to home.?
They were intrigued by the Avon Foundation because they help women diagnosed with cancer a means to pay for treatment if they don’t have medical insurance.
‘We liked that,? said Gualtieri.’They also do a lot of preventative work with women who can’t afford mammograms. The foundation broke it downm that every $100 is a mammogram for someone who can’t afford it.?
The Pink Sparties set their goal for $10,000 and get closer every day through fundraisers they held at Cherry Hill Lanes and JD’s Key Club.
‘It was a lot of fun with a lot of local businesses support donating items and silent auction prizes,? said Gualtieri. ‘We had complete strangers giving us money for raffle tickets.?
They found overpouring support from friends, coworkers and staff members throughout the district.
‘Some people we didn’t even ask came up and said I heard you are collecting,? said Gualtieri.
Donations are still be excepted for their walk in May.
For more information, or to donate go to avonwalk.org, select donate and type in their team name – Pink Sparties.
‘We are walking for friends who have been heroes through their efforts of fighting it, our friends, our collegues, students parents who have/had it, our students, and our daughters,? said Gualtieri. ‘If we get more than $10,000 in donations we will be thrilled.?
The Avon Foundation focuses on breast cancer and domestic violence. For more information about the Avon Foundation visit www.avonfoundation.org or call 1.866.505.AVON.