So, this past Sunday, July 12, 2009, was the first ever KISS Cancer Goodbye 5K Walk in Long Beach, NY. Although I did not take any pictures at this event because I was there selling my prints, I had to blog about it.
KISS Cancer Goodbye (kisscancergoodbye.net) and Cancer Gifts and Ideas (cancergiftsandideas.com) was started by a dear friend of my family, Dana Bonanne. Here is her story…
“I was inspired to create this website and my company due to my mother’s diagnosis on April 24th 2007. My mother who had never smoked a day in her life was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. To my surprise this is not uncommon. According to National Lung Cancer Association, 15% – 25% of lung cancer patients are non-smokers. When they caught the cancer, it had already metastasized from the lung, to the liver, to the adrenal glands, to the lymph nodes, to the spinal cord, and eventually to the brain. On April 18th at 6:15pm my mother died in the arms of my father and myself in the comfort of her own home. She fought a long, courageous battle with dignity and grace. For those who know my mother, she was a pure, selfless, poised, considerate woman who lived for her occupation, teaching. Although the last two years of her life she was retired, she continued to teach through her compassion, faith, and immense determination. My father, my extended family members and I joined her in the battle against cancer and time. We cherished every moment we had with her and were by her side when she passed. Cancer has given us a gift. It has made our last two years together very special and treasured.
It is my goal to continue my mother’s legacy by holding cancer awareness events to raise money in her name and give back to the cancer community that treated us with such kindness and compassion. I have already organized two successful events within the last 3 months entitled Kiss Cancer Goodbye and look forward to orchestrating more in the near future. Please visit our Upcoming Events page for more information.
We hope that you will find comfort, support, and love throughout our website. We welcome your feedback and participation in our site. Thank you for visiting and please come back again.
With all my love,
Dana Bonanne, The Proud Daughter of an Amazing Woman
Founder of Cancer Gifts and Ideas
Board Member of Salaine Cares Memorial Fund
All I can say is I am so proud of my dear friend, for the strength and love and all of the time that she has taken to make all of this a reality. Her mother was so full of life and love, and Dana is the exact same way. It truly is an honor to call her my friend.
The walk was co-sponsored by The Cabana on the corner of Beech Street and Georgia Street in Long Beach, NY. Registration began at 10:00am with complimentary breakfast in The Cabana’s parking lot, and I could not believe it that people were lining up to register at 9:30am! Just the sight of that alone made me think that the day was going to be a huge success. The walk started at 11:00am and the route was from Georgia Street, down to Oceanview Street, to the Long Beach Boardwalk and back to The Cabana for more food and fun. There were various vendors set up, including Cancer Awareness Apparel Company, Chico’s and Coldwater Creek Jeweler, KPrints Photography, and Twinkles, who donated time and proceeds, as well as face painting, giveaways, DJ Kimmie spinnin’, and a live reggae band, Groundswell Creation (http://www.myspace.com/groundswell1), for entertainment throughout the day.
The amount of raffle prizes that were donated to this event was overwhelming. The support from our community really shone through for this walk, and I don’t think we could have asked for anything better. Our goal for this walk was to raise money for cancer education, research and funding, and I am so happy to say that we raised around $4,000!!!
I want to take this time to thank EVERYONE who made this event possible, including all of our wonderful volunteers, participants, and sponsors:
- The Cabana (Long Beach, NY)
- Speakeasy Restaurant and Bar (Long Beach, NY)
- The Inn (www.thelongbeachinn.com)
- Minnesota’s Grill & Bar (www.minnesotasny.com)
- The Beach House (www.thebeachhouselbny.com)
- The Sunset Yogurt Factory (Long Beach, NY)
- Pinup Clothing Boutique (www.pinupclothingboutique.com)
- NEXT (Oceanside, NY)
- T & A Construction (516-921-2152)
- The Pampered Princess (www.pamperedprincesses.com)
- F M O’Rourke Hardware (Long Beach, NY)
- McQuades Neighborhood Grill (www.mcquadesneighborhoodgrill.com)
- Jildor Shoes (www.jildorshoes.com)
- GM Coastal Grill (www.georgemartingroup.com)
- EJ the DJ, Inc. (www.ejthedj.com)
- The Saloon (Long Beach, NY)
- Sutton Place (www.suttonplacelb.com)
- Artie’s Collision (www.artiescollision.com)
- Ooh La La (www.oohlalaboutiques.com)
- Swingbelly’s Beachside BBQ (www.swingbellysbbq.com)
- The Whale’s Tale Seafood & Oyster Bar (www.awhalestale.com)
- Synergy Fitness Club (www.synergyfitnessclubsli.com)
- Tiki Bar (www.tikibarlbny.com)
- Dr. Leo – Chiropractic Life Center (www.docleo.com)
- Bally Bannon (Long Beach, NY)
- Long Beach Wellness (www.lbwellness.com)
- Cancer Gifts and Ideas (www.cancergiftsandideas.com)
- Travel By Jen (www.travelbyjen.com)
- FDNY
***A special thanks to Bally Bannon for donating bagels for all of our volunteers and participants!***
Once I get some pictures of the event I will add them to this blog post!