Thousands of do-gooders flooded Prospect Park on Sunday to honor people killed by breast cancer, celebrate survivors, and raise money to end the disease once and for all.
The occasion was Making Strides Against Cancer, a national walk-athon put on by the American Cancer Society. Many who took part in Brooklyn’s backyard were survivors or had been directly affected by cancer.
“I like to walk and advocate for research, anything to get us to a cure,” said Nicole Paul, of East Flatbush, walking just a week after she lost her aunt to lung cancer. “[Breast cancer is] a cause I’ve always been close to because it affects women, but it’s also personal.”
More than 30,000 walkers helped raise more than $1 million for breast cancer research at the charity stroll in Brooklyn’s backyard, which coincided with walks in each of the other boroughs and around the country. The Brooklyn gathering was the largest and most lucrative in the city after Manhattan’s, and 108,000 people participated citywide, according to organizers.
Community News Group pitched in for the cause, donating $7,500 to the Making Strides campaign as part of our Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign, which kicked off at the beginning of the month with pink editions of all of our community newspapers.
“Anyone who has watched the impact of this terrible disease on sufferers and their loved ones understands the urgent need to find a cure,” wrote Community News Group president Jennifer Goodstein in an introduction to the pink issue.
The American Cancer Society has thrown Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk-athons since 1993, during which time 10 million have strolled for the cause nationwide, raising more than $594 million, according to the organization.
