Welcome Letter

Columbus is glowing pink in preparation for the Race for the Cure on May 15. As you pass through downtown in the coming month, take notice of the LeVeque Tower, a beacon shining pink, as a subtle reminder that breast cancer affects us all.

Registration is in full swing, and there are many opportunities to participate. If you plan to register with a team online, be sure to do so by April 23. This is also the final day to register online for Stefanie and Heathers’ Team. The following weekend will be the team packet pickup, an opportunity for team captains to pick up all of their registrants’ race materials.

The Komen Columbus Young Professionals will be hosting Rally for the Race on Thursday, April 22 at The Barn in Dublin. All are invited! Join us for a casual gathering to get excited for the race and take advantage of one of the last days to register for a team.

Read ahead for more event news and the latest Race for the Cure updates. 

Katie, Jill, Beth, Megan, Becca and Natalie
The Staff of Komen Columbus

Komen Columbus Race for the Cure®

Don’t miss out!  
Please keep these important deadlines in mind as the Race gets closer.
April 16: Team Registration ends by mail-in entry
April 23: Team Registration online and individual mail-in entry ends
April 30 and May 1: Team T-shirt and Race Packet Pick-up Days for Team Captains
May 4: Individual Registration Online ends
May 8-15: On-site registration is available
May 15: Attend the Race for the Cure in downtown Columbus
May 31: All pledges must be received

Volunteers - We Need You!
While the staff of Komen Columbus is strong at six people, we depend on thousands of volunteers to help support Race-related activities. All volunteering opportunities for the Race are now available for sign up here. Please let us know if you have any questions – we truly appreciate your support and look forward to another successful Race thanks to your help!

Online Fundraising
Want to take the EXTRA MILE and help Komen Columbus in our fundraising efforts in the fight to end breast cancer forever? It’s easy, fun and there are definite perks in it for you. Our top 100 INDIVIDUAL fundraisers will become member of the Komen Columbus Honor Roll and receive gifts, special recognition and exclusive event invitations for the rest of the year. In fact, our top fundraiser will win roundtrip airfare to any destination in the domestic 48 states on American Airlines or American Eagle. Here are a few pointers on how to get started with your own personal online fundraising efforts.

First and foremost, register for the 2010 Komen Columbus Race for the Cure. Using the same username and password you created or used during registration, log into your Participant Center. Here you can send e-mails to all the contacts in your e-mail address book, update your personal fundraising page with your information and pictures and manage your online fundraising.

Then, be the first one to donate on your fundraising page and consider pledging MORE than the cost of registration. Are you on Facebook? Download the new Fundraise with Facebook application to let all your Facebook friends know that you’re fundraising for the cure. Downloading the application is easy and places a direct link to your fundraising page on your Facebook profile. 

The average cost of a mammogram is $85 – consider how many people you could help provide this life-saving treatment with just a little bit of work. If some of your donors would prefer to contribute via check or cash, send all contributions, with your pledge form, to the Komen Columbus office:
855 Grandview Ave, Suite 250
Columbus, Ohio 43215

The deadline for all fundraising efforts is May 31, 2010 so now is the time to get the ball rolling!

Your registration fee will only get you to the start line. Fundraising will get you to the Cure.  

Survivors, spend Mother’s Day with the Cleveland Indians!
To celebrate your survivorship, we’d like to make sure all survivors are aware of a new opportunity. For every $50 raised in Race-related fundraising, you’re eligible to receive two free tickets to the Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers game on Sunday, May 9th, Mother’s Day. You’ll also be invited to participate in the Survivor Parade and human pink ribbon, which will be formed on the field. 

All survivors who are interested in receiving tickets to the May 9th game in Cleveland and have raised $50 or more will need to contact us by April 23rd to request their tickets. Quantities are limited so please no more than 6 tickets per survivor.

New Sponsors!
Please join us in thanking a few of our brand-new sponsors! We hope the 2010 Race for the Cure will be the first of many for the following businesses.
1. Battelle Memorial Institute
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Noodles & Company
4. Riverside Radiology and Germain
5. Sleep Outfitters
 

Komen Columbus Events

Pretty in Pink
Join Gail Hogan of NBC 4's Daytime Columbus on Wednesday, April 14th from 6:30-8:30 pm at Premier Aesthetic and Laser Centre for a special open house. Physicians will be discussing the process of aging skin and body contouring. Seating is limited so reserve a seat today by calling 614-384-2999. Purchase a gift card while you're at the open house and five percent will be donated to Komen Columbus. Click here for more information.


Rally for the Race
The Race for the Cure is on May 15th - Kick off Race Season with the Komen Columbus Young Professionals at Rally for the Race, Thursday, April 22 from 6:00pm-8:00pm at The Barn in Dublin.

Join your team members for some light appetizers, mingle with other individual participants and enjoy drink specials or talk with other team captains about their Race strategies.  Volunteers will be available to help with registration and Race posters and registration brochures will be available as supplies last.

The Barn is located at 5451 Edward Farms Rd., Columbus, 43221. No RSVP is necessary, however contact us with any questions.

Team Pick-Up Days 
Attention team captains! Please plan on picking up your team’s t-shirts and Race for the Cure packets at Worly Plumbing Supply, 400 Greenlawn, Ave, Columbus, 43223, during one of the following times:

Friday, April 30, 2010 from 3-5 pm
Saturday, May 1, 2010 from 9-11am

If you are unable to attend either of these pick-up days, you may send a representative from your team.  

Germain partners with Komen Columbus
Are you in the market for a new or used car?  May is going to be the perfect month to expand your car search to one of Germain Motor Company’s seven dealerships in the greater Columbus area.  During the entire month of May, Germain dealers will donate $50 of every car sold to Komen Columbus.  Stop by your local Germain dealership to see where a great event and a great cause come together.

Outreach Events

Interested in attending a program on survivorship or helping out with a service program in the community? Check out our list of upcoming events sponsored by Komen Columbus Grant Programs and be sure to visit our web site for more outreach events.

Event: Free Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening
Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Time: 9:00 am- 3:00 pm
Location: Athens County- OUCOM Parks Hall
Description/Participant Eligibility: Free Pap tests, pelvic and breast examinations, breast health education, and appointments and vouchers for mammograms will be provided to uninsured and underinsured women.
Cost: Free, provided as a community service by the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Community Health Programs, Breast and Cervical Cancer Projects of Southeast Ohio, and the Columbus affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Contact Info: For appointment please call 1-800-844-2654

Event: James Stitching Sisters' 6th Annual Quilt Day
Date: Saturday, April 17
Time: 9 am - 5 pm
Location: Bethel United Methodist Church
Description: To continue our project of making lap quilts for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at JamesCare in Dublin. Click here for more information.
Contact Info: Contact Joanne Lester at 614-519-8995, Carol Monson at 614-353-8621 or Betty Panthana at 614-235-1657.

Event:  Southern Ohio Medical Center Cancer Center Breast Screening
Date: Thursday, April 22, 2010
Time: 5-7pm
Location: 1121 Kinneys Lane in Portsmouth, Ohio
Contact Info: To register, call the volunteer office at (740) 356-8234.
Additional Details: The screening is free of charge.  Patients will receive a  clinical breast exam by a volunteer physician from SOMC.   Women in need of a mammogram will be provided with one through the Hands of Hope Program.  
Other sponsoring organizations: Fight Cancer, Save Lives Cancer Coalition and volunteer medical, nursing and registration staff from SOMC

Event/Program Name: Madison County Breast Care Clinics
Dates: April 22; May 13 & 27; June 10 & 24
Time: Appointments from 4-7 pm
Location: The Battelle Breast Care Center at Madison County Hospital
Contact Info: Call 740-845-7100 and refer to the “Breast Care Clinic” to make an appointment.
Additional Details: Breast exams and mammograms at no out-of-pocket cost to you . Must be 35 or older.

Event: Breast Cancer Survivorship Symposium for Survivors
Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Time: 11:30-4:30
Location: Longaberger Alumni House, The Ohio State University
Contact Info: Registration through OSU JamesCare for Life, 1-800-293-5066 or jamesline@osumc.edu
Other Details: FREE event for survivors

Event: Free Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening
Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Time:  9:00 am- 3:00 pm
Location: Perry County- Perry County Senior Center
Description/Participant Eligibility: Free Pap tests, pelvic and breast examinations, breast health education, and appointments and vouchers for mammograms will be provided to uninsured and underinsured women
Cost: Free, provided as a community service by the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Community Health Programs, Breast and Cervical Cancer Projects of Southeast Ohio, and the Columbus affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Contact Info: For appointment please call 1-800-844-2654

Event: Free Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening
Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Time: 9:00 am- 3:00 pm
Location: Hocking County- Hocking Valley Community Hospital
Description/Participant Eligibility: Free Pap tests, pelvic and breast examinations, breast health education, and appointments and vouchers for mammograms will be provided to uninsured and underinsured women
Cost: Free. Provided as a community service by the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Community Health Programs, Breast and Cervical Cancer Projects of Southeast Ohio, and the Columbus affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Contact Info: For appointment please call 1-800-844-2654

Event: Berger Health Foundation – 2010 Ladies Night Out Charity Event
Date: Saturday, May 1, 2010
Time: 7:00-11:00 P.M.
Location: Amvets Banquet Hall, Circleville, OH 43113
Description: Ladies Night Out is a casino-themed event  for women that will financially benefit bringing additional digital mammography services to Berger Health System. This event is a chance for ladies to enjoy great food and drinks, with an opportunity to participate in a variety of casino games, as well as the chance to bid on numerous items through a silent auction, or to participate in a diamond raffle. Tickets are $50 each and sponsorship opportunities are available.
Contact Info: For information or to reserve tickets, please call Jerad Wood at (740) 420-8209.

Komen Columbus News

Ohio Komen Affiliates Work with Local Legislators 
Volunteers from Komen Columbus and the Ohio Komen Affiliates - Greater Cincinnati, Northeast Ohio and Northwest Ohio - are busy scheduling meetings with the elected officials in their service areas to support House Bill 237 and Senate Bill 133, legislation that would require insurance companies to reimburse for IV and oral chemotherapies equally. Additionally, volunteers will be asking legislators to support a bill that will soon be introduced by Senator Kirk Schuring to create an opportunity for Ohioans to donate money through their state income tax to the Ohio Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, our state screening program for uninsured and underinsured women.

Are you interested in becoming an advocate with elected officials in the fight against breast cancer? Please visit www.komenadvocacy.org and join our grassroots advocacy team. We will keep you posted on public policy impacting breast health and make it easy for you to contact your elected officials about important policy proposals and funding important in our fight to end breast cancer forever.

Doctors for the Cure
It’s hard to believe that even with the superior healthcare available in Central Ohio, Ohio is fourth for breast cancer mortality in the country. That’s a sobering number and something we’ve been trying to improve. To combat that, we’re offering an opportunity for physicians to join in the Doctors for the Cure program.

All physicians are welcome, no matter the specialty, and all we ask is a commitment to join the fight against breast cancer through a monetary gift. We ask that physicians contribute either $300 to participate in the program as an individual or $500 as an office. Participating doctors will receive special Race-related promotions as long as donations are received by April 16th as well as:
• An informative package including Komen Columbus lapel pins and educational materials to provide to patients.
• Komen Columbus Race for the Cure® promotional items and registration forms
• Recognition on the Komen Columbus Web site

To complete the application to join the Doctors for the Cure program, please click here.


The First Step towards the Marathon for the Cure
2010 will be the inaugural year for the Marathon for the Cure team in Columbus. Whether you are a walker or a runner, are going for the challenge of a half marathon or the full 26.2 miles, there is a spot for you on this team. Studies have shown a correlation between physical fitness and the benefits it provides in combating the risk of breast cancer. The Marathon for the Cure is a fundraising challenge, as well as a challenge of personal health and pro-active self-care.

Make the Race for the Cure 5K this May your first step in training with us for the Marathon for the Cure.

The Nationwide Better Health Marathon will be held on October 17, 2010 in downtown Columbus and the Marathon for the Cure team will be participating in this local race. After registering for participation in either the full or the half Columbus Marathon, participants can register to be a part of the Marathon for the Cure (MFTC) team with an additional $50 registration fee. By committing to the MFTC, participants will receive a technical shirt, singlet and goodie bag in preparation for race day. Each team member will pledge to raise a minimum of $250 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, 75 percent of which will stay in Central and Southeastern Ohio.

Are you up for the challenge? By being a part of the MFTC team, you will be surrounded by a support system to help you along every step of this great distance. The Columbus Running Company, a local specialty store and running group, as well as Speedy Sneakers running group will be partnering with the Komen Columbus MFTC team to provide local support for participants to reach their goals, including training schedules and group runs during the training period.

We invite you to go the distance, to join us in the first ever Columbus Marathon for the Cure Team this October. Every step brings us closer to a world without breast cancer.

If you are interested, please contact us and stay tuned for a Columbus MFTC Facebook page!

Speakers Available
Need a speaker to motivate your Race team or to share breast health information at an upcoming event? Our trained speakers can offer educational information, personal testimonies of survivorship and/or co-survivorship, as well as information about Komen Columbus and how to become more involved. We will coordinate with you and try our best to provide a speaker at your event. Contact us today to request a speaker.