Olympic rowers, Tulalip paddlers help raise a record $40,000 to fight breast cancer
Editor's Note: Contributions received following the conclusion of 2006 Seattle Row for the Cure brought the event's gross total to $50,000.
SEATTLE, Sept.
17, 2006 – Olympians Bryan Volpenhein, Mike Hess, and John Stillings helped
lead an eight-oared crew of mostly former University of Washington rowers to
a win in the men’s masters eights on Sunday morning at Seattle’s seventh
annual Row for the Cure® regatta on Lake Union.
The Olympians were among 350 competitors including 15 current and former
U.S. national team rowers, 24 paddlers in two Tulalip tribal canoes and
corporate teams from Starbucks, Zymogenetics and the Seattle law firm of
Lane Powell to compete in the annual breast cancer benefit. Seattle’s Row
for the Cure® raised a record $40,000 for the Puget Sound Affiliate of the
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in the fight against breast cancer.
In the rowing events on Lake Union, Volpenhein, a gold medalist at the 2004
Athens Olympic Games, helped the UW alumni eight to a 10:54.5 win in the
3,500 meter men’s masters eight event. Volpenhein was among 15 former U.S.
national team rowers and seven Olympians to participate in Row for the
Cure®. Other Row for the Cure® winners include the Big Brother and Little
Sister tribal canoes, which paddled in unity for the Tulalip Tribes, while
Lane Powell won the corporate challenge event for the second consecutive
year. The Seattle regatta is one of ten annual Row for the Cure® regattas in
the U.S. and one in Frankfurt, Germany.
“What you are doing really matters,” said Lynn Hagerman, Executive Director
of the Puget Sound Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
during the Row for the Cure® awards ceremony at Seattle’s Pocock Rowing
Center. “I'm inspired by participants who come out to the row because of
their personal stories.”
Among those is Faye Bradley, 70, a member of the Tulalip Tribes who
successfully beat breast cancer after a diagnosis at age 62. "I asked Faye
if she came to cheer on the paddlers from her community," said Hagerman.
"She said, 'No, I paddled - it's the first time I've been in a boat and
didn't know that I could do it.' It's that whole focus on making choices to
really live your life that is remarkable about what events like Row for the
Cure® can do."
Among the other paddlers was Mel Sheldon, Vice Chairman of the Tulalip
Tribes. "Row for the Cure® is a great opportunity for our community to be
involved with other people for a common cause," said Sheldon, 55, who
estimates that the Tulalip canoes participate in some two-dozen events both
within the Tulalip community and outside each year.
"The opportunity to educate women in our community about the importance of
maintaining their health is important," added Sheldon whose Tulalip Health
Clinic is a beneficiary of a Komen Foundation Grant that brings a mobile
mammography unit into the community to provide easy-to-access breast cancer
screening. "By participating in Row for the Cure®, I'm going to ask our
board of directors to look at other opportunities to raise the overall
health consciousness in our community," said Sheldon.
Leading the way in fundraising at Seattle’s Row for the Cure® was Phyllis
Warman of Seattle’s Pocock Rowing Center with $2,520, Steff Fowler of
Bellevue and Martha’s Moms Rowing Club with $2,500, Andy Hess of Edmonds and
Martha’s Moms Rowing Club with $2,175, and Celeste McDowell of Seattle’s
Green Lake Crew with $1,250.
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.
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.
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
Check out news, results and press releases from
Row for the Cure® regattas across the country. Click
here.
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