Well Pink Wings has had another fantastic year. We have added lots of new original pink ribbon pins including the Survivor Angel Breast Cancer Awareness pins, the Wipe Out Cancer ( surf ) pin, and the oh so popular Martini Pink Ribbon pin. We closed out the year with a Santa Hat Pink Ribbon pin (designed by L.A. artist- Nynette Marceth, designer of the popular Foot pin).
Pink Wings was participating in events almost monthly through out 2005...and sometimes weekly. We started out the year at the fabulous Young Survivor Conference in Philly last Feb. Pink Wings teamed up with our sister site- Garden Paper (GardenPaper.com) at a booth at the conference where we sold pink ribbon merchandise. We met so many wonderful young breast cancer survivors and their supporters at this event. We also caught up with women we had met at the 2004 Young Survivor Conference. It was great to see Tiffany, Marisa, Edna, and Mary Lou again.
April 8, 2005 Courtney and her oldest daughter Sedona attend the What A Pair event at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles for the 2nd year in a row. This amazing event is an evening with celebrities. Rene Zelwegger, Lisa Ann Walter (Shall We Dance, Bruce Almighty), Lea Thompson, etc. These wonderful actresses/ singers sing duets from Broadway shows. After the show there is an amazing Silent Auction. Money raised from this event helps to fund Dr. Helena Chang's Breast Cancer research at UCLA.
April 16 and 17th, 2005 Pink Wings participated in the Pacific Palisades Relay For Life for the 2nd year in a row. Courtney is the Survivor Co-Chair and Captain for Team Pink Wings. Our Pacific Palisades Relay this year brought in over $70,000 for the American Cancer Society. That is twice the amount that we raised at our 1st Relay in 2004. I love this event because it is one that the entire family can participate in. I stay the full 24 hours and my little girls have so much fun sleeping in a tent with mom and dad and big sister. They also think it is funny to watch us walk in circles around the track over and over again..hour after hour. What we will always remember from this Relay is the sprinklers going on at 4 AM and soaking our tents. I had walked til 3:30 AM and had finally gone to sleep- just in time to be woken up by the sound of the sprinklers and the water coming into our tent. I will never forget my husband handing me the babies (they were 2 1/2 at the time) and running out of the tent to help other dazed event participants cover the sprinklers with trash cans. Note to Relay Committee: Make sure the sprinklers are turned off for the 2006 Relay!
Through out the summer months, Pink Wings was present at many of the Breast Cancer 3-Day and Avon Walks. We had a great time meeting so many wonderful people supporting the fight against breast cancer. I also love running into old friends from previous walks like: Sandra Jordan (who walks in EVERY Avon Walk) and Barbara Jo Kirshbaum (who has logged in more miles than anyone at these walks), Tia Bruna- a fellow young survivor and Smile Guy and Little Grin.
In September, Pink Wings was present at the 1st Annual Young Survivor Conference in Orange County, and also at the Women Of Color Luncheon in Torrance, Calif. We had a booth at each of these events. Both of these events were a success and we look forward to being invited back again next year.
Courtney walked in her first Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in September. The walk was from the Queen Mary to El Dorado Park and back. A beautiful 40 mile walk...well...I walked 26 miles. It was fun spending the 2nd day walking along side Sandra Jordan and Tia Bruno. These two ladies kept me laughing every mile!!
Courtney walked in her 7th Breast Cancer 3-Day in October. She participated in the San Diego walk and it was one of the most beautiful walks to date. The weather held out for us and it was nice to see so many walkers and supporters along the route. Courtney's husband, Ron and her 3 daughters met her all along the way. This makes the walk go so much faster- knowing that you will see your family just around each corner. Courtney walked with fellow Marquez teachers Elise Bamesberger and Nynette Marceth.
Courtney and her family also participated in the Los Angeles Take-A-Hike for Breast Cancer out in Malibu. This is another beautiful event for the entire family. Walkers choose one of 3 hikes that range from an easy 1 mile hike to a more difficult 3 mile hike to an advanced hike. This year I actually walked with my husband and 3 daughters on the 3 mile hike. 2 of my daughters are only 3 years old. My husband ended up carrying one of them (Sienna) almost the entire 3 miles, however, the other one (Sage) walked almost the entire 3 miles on by herself. I couldn't believe it!
October 19th, 2005, Courtney flew to Pennsylvania for the Keystone Breast Cancer Conference. Before the lunch break, a young women walked up to my booth asking about our Pink Ribbon Flip Flop pendants. As this woman was wearing one of our Pink Ribbon tank tops, I struck up a conversation with her. As we continued to talk, the young woman mentioned a trip she was taking with other breast cancer survivors to Sri Lanka. I said, " Are you talking about Amazon Heart Odyssey?" She said, "Yes." I said, "I am going to Sri Lanka in December with Amazon Heart Odyssey too! What is your name?" Imagine my surprise when she said her name- Debra. She was to be my roommate in Sri Lanka!!! We started screaming and yelling and hugging each other like 2 long lost relatives. Everyone at the conference must have thought we were crazy. What were the chances that 2 women from opposite sides of the country would run into each other, only to find out they were to be roommates on the other side of the world?!
December 1, 2005 The day has finally arrived. I leave for my trip to Sri Lanka. I have raised thousands of dollars and now will be boarding a plane for my long flight to Sri Lanka. First I fly to Tokyo, then to Singapore, and finally to Sri Lanka. The trip takes almost 24 hours. I land in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka and take a 1 hour cab ride to The Galle Face Hotel. Here I meet with 10 other breast cancer survivors and one amazing photo journalist named Jill. Megan and Meredith are the founders of Amazon Heart Odyssey. To read all about them and to follow our wonderful adventure in Sri Lanka, please go to www.amazonheartodyssey.org Our entire journey is on a blog on this site with fantastic photos. I will summarize our trip here- but you have to go to the Blog for all the great details.
11 breast cancer survivors from the U.S., Canada and Australia raised thousands of dollars (the requirement was $5,000 each) and flew to Sri Lanka to build homes in the slums (Shanty Town) of Colombo. The money raised would go towards the building materials. Part of the money was also going towards putting a new roof on one of the pre-schools. Each day, the group of women took a bus to the Shanty Town (which was next to the city dump) and worked on homes. These were not your ordinary homes...no plumbing, no electricity, just a floor, walls, windows, door and a roof. Some of these homes were to house families with up to 7 children. This experience was the adventure of a lifetime. Meeting all of the wonderful people of Sri Lanka...the beautiful children, seeing how they had rebuilt from the Tsunami. Seeing the beautiful beaches....riding an Elephant up and down Bentota Beach. I would recommend this adventure to anyone. One of the highlights of this trip was the afternoon that we met with breast cancer survivors from Sri Lanka. One had traveled 3 hours on a train to meet with us. It was interesting to talk about the similarities and differences of being a breast cancer from Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Sri Lanka.
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