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Once again this year the community has gone above and beyond for breast cancer, contributing over $126,000 to Think Pink Charity Fund during the Think Pink fundraising campaign. The goal for this year was to raise $100,000. “At the beginning of Think Pink five years ago people said it couldn’t be done, that a substantial amount of money couldn’t be raised through a golf scramble, said Georgiann Leonard, Chairwoman for Think Pink. “But over and over again the people of this community have proved them wrong – and they did it for breast cancer,” she proudly stated. Five years ago the first Think Pink a Day on the Links golf scramble was formed with about six committee members and a goal of $25,000. “There were people who told us we would be lucky to make $10,000 hosting a golf scramble, but we were not deterred. At the end of our campaign we had raised $37,000 for breast cancer,” Leonard stated. “This shows how generous our community truly is. To date, with in-kind donations, Think Pink has raised over a half of a million dollars for breast cancer. This is amazing!” The money raised by Think Pink is donated to Good Samaritan Hospital and Susan G. Komen. It is used to help people in this community get financial assistance for mammograms, breast cancer education and assistance in coping with the disease. “This money will also be available for more traditional needs, like if someone needs a mammogram or needs breast cancer treatment but has no money for gas, we will make sure they get to the hospital,” Leonard said. “We can also provide assistance for medicine, oxygen chemo and other medical needs for those dealing with breast cancer.” Rob McLin, President and CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital, said the hospital is lucky to have an organization like Think Pink Charity Fund in Knox County. “We are truly blessed to have Think Pink in our community working so hard to raise money for breast cancer,” McLin stated. “We can’t begin to express our gratitude for the assistance that is provided to our patients through Think Pink. Through the gracious support of our community and the efforts of Think Pink, countless Good Samaritan Hospital patients in our community have benefited by getting the mammograms and breast cancer assistance they need.” After Think Pink’s first year, the organization helped Good Samaritan Hospital to purchase digital mammography equipment. McLin said some of this year’s funds would be utilized to buy the latest technology to identify and diagnose breast cancer, a new digital mammography unit to be purchased in January 2011. Leonard said since its inaugural year Think Pink has grown tremendously. Several additional committee members have become involved and more and more fundraising events outside of the golf outing have been planned each year. The golf outing itself has even become the largest scramble in the state of Indiana. Some of the additional activities added over the years include a silent auction, bucket brigade, pancake breakfast, Shoot for the Cure, the Knox County Cure Tour, and the Good-Win 10K Run/Walk. “These events outside of the golf outing really made Think Pink a success, the golf outing was just a small portion of the money raised,” Leonard said. The Knox County Cure Tour, a scenic 15, 35, and 65-mile bike ride through Knox County, was added in 2009. This event drew in over 275 cyclists, even with a rainy forecast, and was such a success raising $15,000 it continued in 2010. This year 212 cyclists turned out raising $12,000. New this year was the Good-Win 10K Run/Walk at which around 150 people participated, raising close to $4,000. Leonard said this year Think Pink volunteers collected donations and sold t-shirts at Vincennes Lincoln, Vincennes Rivet, South Knox, and North Knox boy’s basketball games and collected $15,000. She said they also had a successful Bucket Brigade year raising $2,600. “During our regular Think Pink Bucket Brigade we raised $1,100, and unbeknown to us, the day of Think Pink A Day on the Links the firefighters held a Bucket Brigade of their own for us and collected $2,500,” she said. “By the donations we’ve received, this goes to show that there isn’t a community our size in the United States that isn’t as supportive of their own selves. The true success of our event shows from the education that has been provided to our community. Our volunteers are out there informing our community about breast cancer, and the donations we’ve received reflect that.”
ABOUT GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL
Good Samaritan Hospital, Knox County’s largest employer, provides space for 232 in-house patients. Annually, Good Samaritan Hospital has more than 333,700 outpatient visits and an additional 33,800 plus visits to its emergency room. The hospital offers a wide scope of medical services. From open-heart surgery to the birth of a baby, this growing health care provider balances quality patient care with preventive education to fulfill its mission. Consistently ranked in the top 5 percent in the nation in patient satisfaction, Good Samaritan Hospital provides a superb level of care while maintaining fiscal integrity and expanding facilities to meet the needs of the community. |
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Think Pink raises $126,000 for fight with breast cancer |