LIFE Celebrates 10 Years LIFE Partners Continue to Sign On to Fuel

In the fight to Eradicate Breast Cancer
Fall 2009
TM
INC
LIFE Celebrates 10 Years
This has been a year of celebration for
LIFE (LPGA Pros in the Fight to Eradicate
Breast Cancer) as the event marked its tenth
anniversary. The LIFE Event, noted as the
biggest single-day golf event fundraiser for breast
cancer initiatives, raised another $500,000 for
breast cancer programs this year. This brings the
total contribution to the breast cancer fight to
just under $6 million dollars since its inception
in 2000.
Peter Zaffino and guest
In this noteworthy year, the LIFE family
honors those partners and participants who
have offered loyal support to the breast cancer
fight for a decade. Since the beginning, ten-
year LIFE Partners Guy Carpenter, a leading
“QualCare’s team gives to many health care
global reinsurance intermediary, QualCare, the charities throughout the year, but every year
largest full service, provider-sponsored managed participating in LIFE is a labor of love for all
care organization owned and operated in the of us.”
state of New Jersey and Roche, a
Individuals who have been
research-focused healthcare company,
supporting LIFE for a decade
along with Lincoln Mercury, have
include
foundation
advisory
empowered LIFE to champion the
board member, Gerri Losquadro,
fight against breast cancer and the
senior vice president of Marsh &
Young Women’s Initiative.
McLennan Companies, Inc., a LIFE
“We are proud to have supported
advocate and Hero, Sue Crosby,
LIFE since its inception 10 years
partner at Perella Weinberg, Ann
ago,” said Peter Zaffino, President
Noble, president of Scibal Associates
and CEO of Guy Carpenter. “Breast
and treasurer of The Val Skinner
cancer has touched the lives of many
Foundation and Mary Beth Childs
of our colleagues and friends, and we
with Tri-State Lincoln Mercury,
Annette Catino
hope that the research and education
who continue to enhance LIFE as
funded by the Val Skinner Foundation one volunteers.
day will help eliminate this life-threatening
“The Young Women’s Initiative is a shared
disease.”
vision among us all,” said Skinner. “LIFE would
In addition, Annette Catino, QualCare CEO not have a decade of successes to celebrate were
and president, has led the LIFE charge internally it not for these companies and compassionate
by hosting Komen on the Go™ stops and lunch leaders who have helped us lead the charge to
and learn events for employees.
fight breast cancer in young women.”
LIFE Partners Continue to Sign On to Fuel the Fight
Many have been a part of LIFE since the
event’s first year. Others have joined the family
along the journey. All LIFE partners have made
it possible, even in challenging economic times,
for LIFE to continue playing a role in the fight
to eradicate breast cancer.
Joe Plumeri, a captain of business, now the
chairman and CEO of Willis Holdings Inc, and
Joe Plumeri and guests
man of great conviction and heart, renewed his partnership with LIFE, continues to move
commitment to the breast cancer cause
the LIFE mission, reaching out to
by stepping up again to generously
their employees with breast health
provide personal support to LIFE this
education and signing on to host
year. Joe supports many non-profit
Komen on the Go™ stops at their
organizations, such as the Make a
corporate campus.
Wish Foundation, the Boy Scouts of
“With one in eight women at risk
America and the National Center on
of being diagnosed with breast cancer
Addiction and Substance Abuse. His
in her lifetime, EmblemHealth is
LIFE contributions, along with those
dedicated to helping in the battle
of the other LIFE Partners, were even
to conquer this disease,” said Frank
more touching this year, when many
J. Branchini, president and COO
non-profits are struggling to continue
of EmblemHealth. “Through
Angela Stanford and
to fund their missions.
innovative programs, LIFE has
Frank Branchini
“Winston Churchill once said
achieved so much to raise awareness
‘You make a living by what you get. You make a and promote early detection particularly in
life by what you give,’” said Plumeri.
young women and we are proud to support this
EmblemHealth, also in its second annual important work.”
PO Box 213 - Bay Head, New Jersey 08742 - Phone: 866-882-LIFE - Fax: 732-701-9932 - Email: [email protected]
Life Lines
-
Continued Support Drives LIFE
E THE DAT
V
E
SA
LIFE acknowledges our Gold Partners: Assured Guaranty, Marsh, Centocor Ortho Biotech, Inc.,
ACE Group, GUND and Lincoln Mercury for supporting our efforts through the years. Other
important contributors include The Steven A. Cox Foundation through the Cox Charity Classic
whose funds support LIFE’s BioCONECT program. Support for the Val Skinner Foundation also
comes from the Amy and Joe Perella Charitable Gift Fund, Wakefern Corporation through the
community foundation of New Jersey, Morgan Stanley and Shoprite Supermarkets, presenters of
Komen on the Go™ at this year’s LPGA Sybase Classic.
LIFE also honors our event co-host, Jack Ford and honorary LIFE chair, Betty Ford as well as the
LPGA pros who have been with us over the years.
Watch for
announcement of
2010 LIFE Event
date coming soon.
LIFE Celebrates Beneficiaries
For a decade, LIFE has supported beneficiaries
Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the Cancer
Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) and the Young
Survival Coalition. And, each year these
organizations partner with the Val Skinner
Foundation to continue to develop innovative
breast cancer programs built on the Young
Women’s Initiative.
Komen on the Go tour™
Komen on the Go™, in its sixth crosscountry tour this fall, consistently educates
young women and men on the importance of
breast health awareness, offering a call to action
along the way for others to join the breast cancer
movement.
The 2009 college tour was launched at Rider
University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey with
planned stops at 40 college campuses across the workshops allowed participants to experience
country. This year the tour is expected to surpass the curricular materials as both a student and
last year’s reach with an estimated audience of a teacher. Through working with the materials,
four million and thousands of giveaways to discovering how the lessons and activities are
participants.
interrelated and built upon one
After establishing the LIFE
another, teachers are prepared
Center, five satellite LIFE
to introduce the BioCONECT
Centers and multiple breast
materials in the classroom.
cancer related fellowships, as a
The program will continue to
part of the center’s continued
be rolled out in these and new
effort to support the Young
markets in 2010.
Women’s Initiative, CINJ
In honor of LIFE’s 10-year
launched the BioCONECT
honorary chair, Betty Ford and
BioCONECT
fellowship program. Partnering
Christian Plumeri, LIFE made
with the Center for School and Community a donation to the Betty Ford Institute to share
Health Education at the University of Medicine lessons learned from BioCONECT to be used
and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Public to help create a similar program for addiction.
Health, the BioCONECT program targets high
LIFE Partner, GUND, will also launch a new
school students with an age appropriate breast line associated with the BioCONECT program
cancer/cancer curriculum.
in January.
Four BioCONECT teacher workshops were
In addition LIFE, in partnership with Roche,
held during the 2008-2009 school year, two in continues to support a grant from the Young
South Carolina and two in New Jersey. Sixty-six Survival Coalition funding programs that are
teachers, representing 12 districts in the public focused on adjuvant and metastatic breast cancer
and private sectors, attended the workshops.
treatments for young women.
The hands-on format used in the BioCONECT
Top ten highlights in ten Years of LIFE:
The first celebration of
LIFE to honor the memory
of Heather Farr in 2000
The establishment of the
LIFE Center at The Cancer
Institute of New Jersey
(CINJ)
LIFE Center collaborates
with world-leading cancer
researcher
BioCONECT program
educates high school
students about breast
cancer and cancer genetics
Launch of the Komen
On the Go™ Tour
The establishment of the
Young Women’s Initiative
LIFE Center at CINJ
launches satellite centers
The establishment of
a grant for the Young
Survival Coalition
The LIFE Event has
its first $1 million
dollar year in 2008
Honoring 10 years
of LIFE Heroes
An estimated 192,370 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the U.S. in 2009. - Finding and reporting breast changes early offers women
Fall 2009
Honoring LIFE Heroes
One of the highlights of every LIFE Event is
the announcement of LIFE Heroes, individuals
who have demonstrated courage in the face
of breast cancer and/or purpose in the fight
against the disease. The 2009 LIFE Event
was no exception. Breast cancer survivor and
advocate Bridget Spence (Mooney) and Susan
G. Komen for the Cure celebrity ambassador
Gabrielle Union were honored as LIFE Heroes
at a reception following the tournament.
Gabrielle Union, Val Skinner and Bridget Spence
Twenty-five year old Spence was diagnosed
with State IV breast cancer shortly after
graduating from Boston University. She was
an active twenty-one year old, given a 16
percent chance of celebrating her 30th birthday. walking in the Breast Cancer 3-Day benefiting
Throughout the last four years, she has Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
undergone continual aggressive chemotherapy
LIFE Hero Gabrielle Union was personally
and a lumpectomy. During this time she began introduced to the disease when her close
as a volunteer for Susan G. Komen
friend was diagnosed with Stage IV
for the Cure.
metastatic breast cancer. The popular
Today she is a passionate breast
television and film star began actively
cancer advocate who participates in
fundraising for the cause and found
Breast Cancer 3-Day walks, speaks
a passion for helping make sure
at colleges and universities across
others battling the disease had access
the country, serves on the Susan
to health care, support groups and
G. Komen for the Cure’s National
counseling. Aware of her passion,
Young Women’s Advisory Council
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
and is a board member of Thrive,
invited Union to be an ambassador
a Boston-area nonprofit that serves
for the organization’s Circle of
young women with breast cancer.
Promise program, whose mission is
Bridget Spence
Her mission is to remind young
to educate, empower and mobilize
women not to take their bodies for granted, to the African-American community in the fight
become educated and perform self-exams.
against breast cancer.
Though she is still getting chemotherapy
LIFE honors this year’s heroes as well as all
treatments, she married her prince charming, the heroes we’ve honored over the last ten years.
Alex Spence on Saturday, August 15. The Your stories represent why LIFE’s mission is so
wedding flowers were, of course, pink and in lieu important. You are the reason that we continue
of favors, the couple made a donation to a team in the fight against breast cancer.
Anniversary Event Supported by LPGA family
Twenty-eight of the best women golfers in the world from the LPGA,
including LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame members Beth
Daniel and Karrie Webb and top ranked players Angela Stanford, Morgan
Pressel, Brittany Lincicome, Helen Alfredsson, Christiana Kim and Laura
Diaz participated in the tenth anniversary LIFE Event.
Over the past decade, the LIFE Event has drawn participation from
more than 65 pros representing 14 countries. The 2009 event united
LPGA pros representing countries including the United States, Sweden,
England, Finland, Australia and Scotland in celebration of the event’s
tenth anniversary. This year’s field was a list typically seen only at
major LPGA tournaments with a collective 150 total victories and 89
international wins among participating LPGA pros.
The LPGA family extends a special thanks to Dr. Deborah Toppmeyer
and CINJ’s comprehensive LIFE center for their support and guidance of
LPGA family members and pros during personal encounters with breast
cancer over the years.
2009 LIFE LPGA Pros
Special media acknowledgements
New York Times, Bill Pennington
The Golf Channel
SportsIllustrated.com, Damon Hack
New York Daily News – Hank Gola
Associated Press
Star Ledger/ Inside New Jersey – Amy Ellis Nutt
and Mark Rainey
News 12 New Jersey, Bryan DeNovellis
One-On-One with Steve Adubato
Asbury Park Press, Steve Edelson
Trentonian, L.A. Parker
The Record
North Platte Bulletin
Speaking of Golf
Tee to Green
Fairways of Life
Making the Turn
Straight Talk 1300
PLJ Radio
the best opportunity for reducing breast cancer deaths through early detection. - Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 15 to 54.
Statistic sources: Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Young Survival Coalition, American Cancer Society
Life Lines
Fall 2009
Others Follow LIFE’s Lead to Focus on Young Women
Following the lead of the Komen on the
Go™ Tour and Val Skinner Foundation, others
are catching on to the focus on young women
and breast cancer.
Yoplait has launched an online awareness and
fundraising campaign called “Know Your Girls,”
designed to empower and engage women ages
22-29 in the fight against breast cancer. Visitors
to the “Know Your Girls” page on Facebook
will be invited to take an online breast health
quiz and to make a personal pledge to maintain
their own breast health. For each pledge made
from September 14, 2009 to October 31 2009,
Yoplait will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen
for the Cure®, up to $100,000.
“What I hope we see as others follow our
lead to target young women in the breast cancer
fight is that programs such as Komen on the
Go™ and BioCONECT continue to grow, said
Skinner. “With additional support we can add
more Big Pink vehicles and workshops across
the country that will strengthen our initiative
and save lives.”
2009 Photo Spotlight
- To join the fight to eradicate breast cancer, visit www.valskinnerfoundation.org or call 866-882-LIFE.