Tulalip paddlers, U.S. rowers take strokes to fight breast cancer
Seattle fireboat water show on Sunday morning to honor breast cancer survivors and those that have lost their battle with the disease
SEATTLE, Sept.
13, 2006 – Tulalip tribal canoe paddlers along with several U.S. national
team rowers including world junior rowing bronze medalist Lindsay Meyer are
expected to join 300 competitors Sunday morning, Sept. 17 on Lake Union for
Seattle's seventh annual Row for the Cure regatta.
Row for the Cure® is the Seattle rowing and paddling community’s annual
fundraiser for the Puget Sound Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation and helps kick-off October as National Breast Cancer Awareness
Month in the Emerald City. The Seattle regatta is one of ten annual Row for
the Cure® regattas in the U.S. and one in Frankfurt, Germany.
Racing begins at 7 a.m. and runs through 8:30 a.m. with crews starting near
Seattle Pacific University in the Lake Washington Ship Canal and racing
under the Fremont Bridge to the finish line near South Lake Union Park. Row
for the Cure® concludes at 9 a.m. with a water display by the Seattle
Fireboat Alki honoring breast cancer survivors and those that have lost
their battle with the disease. The water show takes place in front of the
Pocock Rowing Center just west of the University Bridge.
Participants in the regatta include masters, high school and elite-level
rowing crews and canoe and kayak enthusiasts from throughout Puget Sound and
British Columbia along with corporate rowing crews from Starbucks,
Zymogenetics and the Seattle law firm of Lane Powell. Rowers and paddlers
are each encouraged to raise at least $150 – or the cost of a mammogram.
For the first time, tribal canoeists will join Seattle’s Row for the Cure®.
Propelled by up to 10 paddlers, a skipper and a balance person, tribal
canoes were once the primary means of transport and trade between native
villages on the West Coast. Today, through historical events such as the
InterTribal Canoe Journey, coastal tribes of the Northwest regularly come
together for paddling journeys to honor their centuries-old traditions.
"Anywhere you go – you will know somebody that has been affected by breast
cancer," said Natalia Knapp, 40, a nurse at the Tulalip Health Clinic, who
will paddle in a tribal canoe along with members of the Tulalip Tribes to
raise awareness of the screening programs available to women at the clinic.
“Breast cancer screening is something that is easy to ignore,” she said.
“There aren’t always symptoms. If you catch breast cancer early, you have a
chance to stop it.”
Through partial funding from the Puget Sound Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation, the Tulalip clinic is able to provide on-going
breast cancer screening for women without traditional health insurance
through the Washington Breast and Cervical Health Program, which targets low
income women ages 40 – 64.
“This program helps us provide breast cancer screening to tribal members who
may have difficulty with the health care system at larger facilities or are
uncomfortable traveling more than a short distance for an exam,” said Dr.
Cathy Curran, 53, a family doctor at the Tulalip Health Clinic and an
organizer of Row for the Cure®.
“With Komen funding to bring in a mobile mammography unit, we have a better
show-rate of women keeping appointments for their exams. It can save lives.”
Since January the program has helped fund an added 35 breast cancer
screenings for women served by the Tulalip Health Clinic.
Seattle’s Row for the Cure® is one of 60 third-party events that take place
each year in the Seattle-area benefiting the Puget Sound Affiliate of the
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Third-party events, which are
organized by groups other than the Susan G. Komen Foundation, include
Seahawks Football 101, fashion shows, concerts, rodeos and an ultra-marathon
run.
In 2005, the Seattle’s Row for the Cure® raised $31,000 for the Puget Sound
Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Proceeds from each
Row for the Cure® benefit the local affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation, where 75 percent of the money raised stays in the
community for education and treatment of breast cancer. The remaining 25
percent of monies raised support national breast cancer research projects.
About Row for the Cure®
Row for the Cure® (www.RowForTheCure.com)regattas
are third-party events benefiting local affiliates of the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation. Since the regatta’s inception in 1994 on
Portland’s Willamette River, Row for the Cure® has expanded to ten U.S.
cities, raising over $430,000 in the fight to eradicate breast cancer as a
life threatening disease.
Row for the Cure® in Seattle
is made possible through the generous support of Pocock Racing Shells,
Starbucks Coffee, H.D. Fowler Company, Lane Powell, Seattle Breast Center
and NW Hospital, Zymogenetics, Columbia Bank, Shoreline Bank, Snyder Hartung
Kane and Strauss, KING Television, the George Pocock Rowing Foundation and
RegattaCentral.
About the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister,
Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, the
Foundation is an international organization with a network of more than
75,000 volunteers working through local Affiliates and events like the Komen
Race for the Cure® to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease.
A global leader in the fight against breast cancer, the Foundation fulfills
its mission through support of innovative breast cancer research grants,
meritorious awards and educational, scientific and community outreach
programs around the world. Together with its Affiliate Network, corporate
partners and generous donors, the Komen Foundation has raised nearly $600
million for the fight against breast cancer.
NEWS
Over $31,000 raised on Lake Union at Seattle’s Row for the Cure®
SEATTLE, Sept. 18, 2005 – Three hundred rowers, kayakers and dragon boat paddlers, including Seattle Olympic silver medalist Anna Mickelson, teamed up on Sunday morning to raise over $31,000 in the fight against breast cancer at the Row for the Cure® regatta on Lake Union. Read the full story
TAKE THE LEAD
If you’re rowing, dragon boat, or canoe kayaking club is interested in hosting a Row for the Cure® , click here for our easy “Set-up Kit”.
DONATE NOW
Don’t wait until race day to help win the race against breast cancer. Donate to your local Komen Foundation affiliate today.
RECENT STUDY
According to a British study, children of women with breast cancer often sensed that something was wrong before being told. Read more.
Meet Row for the Cure founder
Kathy Frederick
Portland, Oregon
For the 13th year in a row, Kathy has helped raise more than $3,000. Click here for the full story.