Tuesday, May 3, 2011

I support Yoga on the Steps because of what LBBC stands for

This entry was written by Kelly Stipa. This will be Kelly's first year participating in Yoga on the Steps:

I first learned about Living Beyond Breast Cancer from one of my best friends, Gina. For the past 4 years, I’ve participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and did a lot of fundraising, but after taking the time to research and learn about LBBC, I decided to become a part of Gina’s team, the 2nd Base Brigade, and fundraise for Yoga on the Steps.



Gina and I have a very close friendship, and one thing we have in common is that someone in our lives has lived with breast cancer. Gina’s mom, Susan, is currently living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and both my grandmothers, Betty and Ann, fought this disease for years. My grandmother on my Dad’s side was diagnosed in 1979 and immediately had a mastectomy on her right breast. She lived a healthy life for another 25 years. My Grandmother on my Mom’s side had a different type breast cancer, and she struggled for quite a long time, which also ended with a mastectomy but 10 years later she is going strong!


When you have a family member so close to you living with breast cancer, you want to do anything you can to help them. I really love what LBBC stands for, and how 84 cents of every dollar donated goes towards education. That is almost 85%! Over the years, we’ve all donated toward research for a cure, which is something we all desperately want to find, but I’ve learned that helping to educate and improve a person’s quality of life is just as important.


In all honesty, I’ve never been a fan of yoga….at all!! In fact, Gina and I love to walk and jog every morning in our neighborhood. We do 3 miles a day faithfully. That’s one of the ways we keep ourselves healthy. But after seeing pictures from last year’s event, and hearing Gina and Susan talk about how fun and important this day is, I wanted to be a part of it with them. This will be my first time participating in an LBBC fundraising event, and I’m excited to experience it with people I love and support.


I am one of only two new members of the 2nd Base Brigade, and I’m so happy I decided to join them for Yoga on the Steps. After making phone calls, sending out emails and text messages, I’m proud to say I’ve helped our team to meet our goal of $1500, and my donations keep coming in! I’m not going to stop until I hit my personal goal of $500. Heck…let’s make it $600!


Gina (or Twin - which is our nickname for each other), and I are known for being silly and having a good time, but there are moments when we bond over the serious things that affect our lives. Gina has talked at length about how LBBC has helped her mom over the past couple years, and she is forever grateful to them. She believes this organization is what has helped Susan to stay optimistic, and continue to live a positive and exciting life. That is what we both want for ourselves if either one of us ever has to struggle with this disease personally.

 Kelly (right) with her best friend, Gina (left).

In support of my grandmothers, Susan, and for all the other mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts and girlfriends that are affected by this terrible disease, I hope my fundraising efforts will help to educate these very special people living beyond breast cancer.

Do you have a special reason to fundraise? Register for Yoga on the Steps today! There is a minimum donation of $50 required for each participant to participate in the class and the event.

1 comment:

  1. Yoga for children is a great idea and they adore it. But, had you realized that the benefit can extend to the whole family? We call it the stress antidote.

    OrthoMolecular

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