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Susan G. Komen 3-Day

In four weeks (*gulp*) my good friends Jen and Shelley and I will be participating in a special event called the Susan G. Komen 3-Day. We’re going to walk 60 miles over the three days, in support of those impacted by breast cancer. It’s an incredible event, and since its inception in 2003, the 3-Day has raised more than $600 million.

According to the Susan G. Komen website,

Seventy-five percent of the net proceeds raised by the 3-Day fund national research and large public health outreach programs. The remaining 25 percent funds local community and affiliate outreach programs.

No breast cancer organization provides more support and care than Komen. Virtually every major advance in the fight against breast cancer in the last 30 years has been impacted by a Komen grant, and millions of women rely on Komen every day. These women need our help more than ever to safeguard Komen’s great work in our local communities for another 30 years.

I don’t have the connection (knock on wood) to breast cancer that I do to ovarian cancer, but the fact of the matter is that breast cancer is so common that virtually everyone knows someone who has been imapcted.

Check out these statistics:

• Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide.

• About 1.6 million new cases of invasive breast cancer occurred among women around the world in 2010.

• About 425,000 women around the world died of breast cancer in 2010.

• Every 19 seconds, somewhere in the world, someone is diagnosed with breast cancer.

• Every 74 seconds, somewhere in the world, someone dies from breast cancer.

• The number of new breast cancer cases more than doubled around the world in the last three decades.

Additionally, breast cancer is closely tied to ovarian cancer, as the same gene – BRCA – is often responsible for both diseases.

I’ve committed to raising $2,300 for the cause, and as of now, I’m 84% of the way there – I’m just $365 short of my goal. If helping to end breast cancer is something that is meaningful to you, I’d really appreciate your support.

Every gift makes a difference. For example:

$35 could be used to provide the cost of patient transportation to a treatment session.

$60 represents one dollar for every mile a 3-Day walker will travel.

$120 could be used to cover the cost of a life-saving mammogram.

Thanks for your consideration. You can click the Komen widget in the sidebar to donate —>.

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Field of Dreams

Saturday was a day I’d been anticipating for a long time – my family’s first time at the Buddy Walk for the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association.  We came out to walk and support our friends Paul, Jessica, Jay, and Baby Joy. Joy was born this past April with Down Syndrome, and when I found out Paul and Jess were going to form a Buddy Walk team, I knew immediately I should get involved!  With your help, I raised $599 for the people living in my area with Down Syndrome!  And our team, Team Peace, Love, & Joy raised over $3,000! Woooohoooo! We were also the #7 fundraising team for the whole walk! Not bad for a first-year effort, right!?

The Buddy Walk was downtown at our beautiful minor-league baseball stadium, the Dayton Dragons Fifth Third Field. It was a rainy morning so we couldn’t get out on the field, but fortunately it cleared up right before we were set to walk!  So we walked around the concourse and had a great time and a gorgeous day.  We LOVED hanging out with our team!  Here’s Bobby, Jonah and I with Joy Marie, the star of the show!

And here’s me with Joy and her awesome & beautiful mom, Jess:

Here are some more fun pics of our day at the Buddy Walk:

I cannot tell you how proud I was to be a part of Team Peace, Love, & Joy to support this sweet family and all the wonderful families of the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association! I also wanted to give big props to my friend Jen, whose team in honor of her 5-year-old daughter Emmaline and her niece Kayla, was the #4 top fundraising team! I’ve known Jen and her hubby since high school and Emmaline and Sophie are the same age and used to go to the same speech therapist. I’ve loved watching Emmy grow and learn and just be generally awesome. She has a really awesome mom, dad, big brother and sister, too!

My favorite part about the Buddy Walk was just seeing all the happy, excited families there.  Everyone was so joyful and proud and the mood was just celebratory and fun!  No one was there crying about their lot in life parenting a child with a disability.  Everyone was thrilled to be celebrating their families, raising awareness, and raising money to help get their kiddos the funds they need to reach their full potential.  It was, as I like to say, TOTES awesome.  Totes!  I was super-proud to have my family involved and I can’t wait til next year!

Thanks so much to everyone who supported my fundraising efforts, from my $5 Friends to my $100 Friends, you all made this possible, and I really cannot thank you enough for helping to make a difference in the lives of some pretty rockin’ people right here in my hometown.

THANK YOU!!!

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Interview with Teen Mom’s Chelsea Houska

A couple years ago, I wrote a post about a TV show I had seen called “16 & Pregnant.” I’ve been a regular viewer since then, and I’ve also faithfully watched the spin off, “Teen Mom.” Several weeks ago, I got a PR pitch that caught my eye – an opportunity to interview one of the teenage mothers, Chelsea Houska, whom I highlighted in my original post. The show gets very mixed reviews – some people think it shows teen pregnancy for the difficult thing it is, others think having a show about it glamorizes the subject. I was curious to hear the opinions of someone actually on the show, so I set up an interview with Chelsea.

The first thing I asked Chelsea was regarding that same subject – critics of the show. Her response echoed how I feel about it – she feels the show depicts teen parenting how it really is, and doesn’t make it look easy or glamorous at all. Like Chelsea pointed out, those girls spend a lot of time crying. We’ve also seen how Chelsea struggled with balancing school and being a mom, and we’ve seen her grow up a lot. Chelsea’s situation is better than many girls on the show, in that she is very close to her parents and they are a wonderful support system for her. Even still, though, it’s tough and her life has changed dramatically since becoming a mom.

I was also curious about the impact the show has had on Chelsea’s daughter, Aubree, who is about to turn three. Chelsea says Aubree loves talking to people and likes the attention. It’s going to be weird, for sure, when Aubree gets older and sees the footage, though. Much like how when my kids get older, they are going to read this blog and think I am a complete nutcase. But I guess we’ll both cross that bridge when we come to it. I asked Chelsea how she would feel if Aubree wanted to be on a reality show one day, and she said she’d be supportive, although she would warn Aubree that there’s a lot of criticism that comes with it.

If she had the chance to do it all over again, Chelsea says she would definitely still have done the show and that overall it’s been a great experience. I guess I was a little surprised to hear that (although Chelsea’s story has not been a train wreck like certain other reality stars who may or may not have eight kids), but I was really glad to hear that it hasn’t been detrimental to her life. Because if it was, I’d feel like I had to stop watching, and that would be very sad.

Chelsea’s a smart girl with a wonderful family, and I’m sure she and Aubree will flourish in the future. I enjoyed talking with her, and it was great to get an inside view of Teen Mom.

What are your thoughts on shows like this? Do you watch them? Would you let your kids watch the show, if they were at an appropriate age? Do you think the shows warn against teen pregnancy or glamorize it?

P.S. In case you were wondering (and I certainly was), Chelsea reports that she and Adam aren’t together and haven’t been in a while. Hallelujah.

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