{"id":44612,"date":"2015-10-20T11:15:09","date_gmt":"2015-10-20T15:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=44612"},"modified":"2021-05-14T09:43:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T13:43:36","slug":"breast-cancer-charities-new-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/lifestyle\/breast-cancer-charities-new-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Lesser-Known Breast Cancer Charities Giving Women New Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Breast
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, most of us turn our attention to the tide of pink-clad walkers and runners<\/a> raising money for a future cure. But not every organization gets the recognition it deserves. Here, we celebrate the brave women running grassroots organizations that provide support, services and more \u2014 all without the benefit of seed money, big budgets or corporate boards. Rather, they depend on their own grit and gumption to help their sisters in need.<\/p>\n

5 Lesser-Known Breast Cancer Charities You’ll Want to Support<\/h3>\n
\"Casting
Photo Courtesy of Casting for Recovery<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Casting For Recovery<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mission: <\/strong>Providing therapeutic fly fishing retreats for the body and soul<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been beaten down by the emotional and physical toll of breast cancer treatment, then the idea of spending three days in nature learning a new sport might be the furthest thing from your mind. But joining this all-women fly fishing expedition is more than just a much-deserved escape. It turns out the activity helps with recovery, too. The motion of casting a fly fishing rod stretches the soft tissue around the breast and is similar to exercises<\/a> recommended by doctors after surgery or radiation.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1996 in Manchester, Vermont by a breast cancer reconstructive surgeon and a professional fly fisher, Casting For Recovery hosts 40 free fly fishing retreats for 600 women in 36 states each year. The charity raises about $1.2 million annually through small private donations, a couple big events and a handful of national sponsorships.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so therapeutic being outdoors. Fly fishing is a good tool to teach mindfulness because you have to be so focused and present,\u201d explains Executive Director Whitney Milhoan. Of course, women benefit from the peer support, too. \u201cOne woman told me, \u2018The last thing I wanted to do after completing treatment was to go back<\/a> to the hospital for a support group,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>9 Bloggers Who Changed Their Lives Through Fitness<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Pink
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Pink Daisy Project
\n<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mission: <\/strong>Supplying gas and grocery gift cards for young women in need<\/p>\n

When Debbie Cantwell was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 41 more than nine years ago, the single mom from Seattle was unprepared to absorb the costs of treatment and time off from work. \u201cWho plans for an illness? I was trying to deal with the shock of cancer and make it with two small kids and no savings,\u201d she says. What helped: A ton of support from friends and family. Cantwell says she couldn\u2019t afford to pay them back, so she decided to pay it forward<\/a>. In 2008, she started the Pink Daisy Project, a charity dedicated to helping women under 45 survive the financial crunch of treatment.<\/p>\n

Funded by individual donations and small local fundraisers that bring in about $80,000 a year, Cantwell sends about 250 recipients $250 in gift cards for groceries, restaurants or gas. \u201cI focus on young women because they\u2019re already busy moms<\/a> and might be taking care of parents and don\u2019t have a lot of financial flexibility,\u201d says Cantwell, who works full time as an ad copywriter and runs the charity on nights and weekends. \u201cWe used to help people three months in a row, but our donations are down so we just help with a one-time gift,\u201d she says. Some women write us just asking for gas cards, especially if they have long drives to their radiation treatment centers. \u201cWhat breaks my heart is when women write, \u2018The cancer is back. Can you help again?\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The Inspiring High School Football Player Battling Leukemia<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Olson
Photo Courtesy of Breast Friends<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Breast Friends<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mission: <\/strong>Teaching friends and family invaluable support techniques<\/p>\n

When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, her friends and family members often say, \u201cCall me if you need anything!\u201d But that\u2019s not the kind of support she really needs, explains Sharon Henifin, who cofounded the Portland, Oregon-based charity Breast Friends in 2000 with fellow survivor Becky Olson. \u201cThe patient will say \u2018Thanks!\u2019 But she never reaches out.\u201d The cofounders, who are both 62, wanted to help educate patients\u2019 nearest and dearest on how to provide the most useful support. That can mean anything from taking her wig shopping, to bringing over healthy meals<\/a>, to saying \u201cI\u2019m going to the store. What can I get you?\u201d (\u201cYou\u2019re not asking if <\/em>she wants something,\u201d says Henifin. \u201cYou\u2019re asking what<\/em> she wants.\u201d)<\/p>\n

In addition to speaking engagements and brochures with \u201ctips to show you care,\u201d they\u2019ve more recently expanded their mission to help patients directly through workshops and support groups. Volunteers connect patients with local photographers willing to donate their services to celebrate patients\u2019 beauty during treatment. They also send out baseball caps with the logo \u201cTemporarily bald. Permanently beautiful.\u201d The charity has inspired other volunteers to create affiliates in Pennsylvania and Florida and now helps 425 new patients annually with funding from grants and events that raise $200,000.<\/p>\n

\"My
Photos: MyHopeChest.org<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. My Hope Chest<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mission: <\/strong>Funding breast reconstruction surgery for uninsured women<\/p>\n

In 2001, 38-year-old Alisa Savoretti had taken a break from her career as a Las Vegas show girl when she found a lump in her breast. She was uninsured at the time but sought public assistance to pay for a mastectomy and eight rounds of chemotherapy. Savoretti recovered, but she couldn\u2019t find help to pay for reconstructive surgery. Three years later, when she returned to dancing, she put a prosthesis in her bra and adopted the name \u201cThe Lopsided Dancer.\u201d After her new insurance agreed to cover the procedure, Savoretti finally got her breast back. \u201cI was a young women who felt disfigured for three years,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her frustration inspired her to create My Hope Chest, which helps uninsured women get funding for the procedure and \u201cfeel whole again,\u201d says Savoretti, now 52. She\u2019s since moved the charity from Las Vegas to her mom\u2019s house in Tampa Bay and devotes herself to it full time. \u201cThe average reconstruction process includes three separate surgeries and takes up to a year and costs about $25,000 cash,\u201d she says. Savoretti promotes surgeons who offer $13,500 discounted rates on the charity website and helps about seven to 10 women a year with $250,000 from donations, third-party events and sponsorships from bra manufacturers. \u201cIt feels rewarding to be on the happy end of cancer, but we have 200 women on the wait list,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The 20 Most Inspiring Runners in the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The
Photos Courtesy of The Pink Fund<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. The Pink Fund<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mission: <\/strong>Offering short-term financial relief for women in treatment<\/p>\n

Women facing breast cancer treatment are often told to anticipate nausea and hair loss. But many don\u2019t expect to suffer financial hardship from lost income. But that\u2019s what happened to 54-year-old Molly MacDonald nearly a decade ago when she had to undergo two surgeries and six weeks of daily radiation to cure her breast cancer. In between jobs, the mother of five who was caring for her aging mother and paying $1,200 a month for COBRA health insurance, lost her home and had to accept help from a local food bank<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A year later, she was determined to start a charity that could help other families stay afloat by covering a mortgage, car, utility or health insurance premium payment. MacDonald, who lives near Detroit, called it The Pink Fund and now receives about 150 requests a month for support. \u201cIt\u2019s a little frightening, since we can only help about 85 people a month,\u201d says MacDonald, now 63, who works full-time to raise about $750,000 a year from individual donations and two corporate sponsorships. Recipients get about $1,200 over 90 days. \u201cWe want to provide enough financial support to give patients time to figure out what to do next,\u201d she says. \u201cWe give them hope. One person told me, \u2018When you paid my bills, I felt loved.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, get inspired by these gutsy women running lesser-known charities making a big difference in women\u2019s lives. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,12,15],"tags":[168,47,224,237,103,345,354],"class_list":["post-44612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-mental-health","category-stress","tag-charity","tag-family","tag-illness","tag-inspiration","tag-motivation","tag-tax1conditions","tag-tax2breast-cancer"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44612\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}