Client Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Brings Record Breaking Crowds

Race for the Cure Attracts Nearly 19,000 Participants in Miami

The Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® today reported that 18,990 individuals, including more than 900 breast cancer survivors, participated in the 2009 Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®. This is the largest participation in the event’s history.

Despite the current downturn in the economy, the number of participants at this year’s event also made it the largest 5K Run/Walk in Miami-Dade County in 2009. This marks another outstanding year since the first Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Race for the Cure® in 1996.

Some of the major local sponsors of this year’s Race for the Cure® included Publix/Kellogg’s, Macy’s, South Florida Ford Dealers, Chevron, CBS4/MY33, The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald, Momsmiami.com, Univision, and Clear Channel.

In keeping with Komen guidelines, 75 percent of the net proceeds raised stay in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties to support education, screening and treatment in underserved communities. The remaining 25 percent is pooled with money raised by other Komen affiliates for national research grants.

“The support we have received from the South Florida community will allow us to continue to expand our ongoing educational outreach and screening programs in the Miami/Ft Lauderdale and Florida Keys,” said Bobbi Meyers, executive director for Susan G. Komen Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate. “We are expecting to exceed the $1.2 million raised last year. This money will bring us one step closer to our vision of a world without breast cancer.”

Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is dedicated to saving lives and ending breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures. Since its inception in 1996, the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Race For the Cure® and the Affiliate has raised more than $9 million and has reached hundreds of thousands of women and men through educational outreach. For more information, visit http://www.komenmiaftl.org/.

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Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate is a client of Thorp & Company

Client Susan G. Komen Receives Support from Designer Red Carter

Model sports signature Komen® pink ribbon on swimsuit

Miami-based swimwear designer Red Carter showed its support to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week SWIM. The designer supported breast health and breast cancer awareness at his 2010 swimwear collection runway show. One of the Carter’s models sported the signature Komen® pink ribbon on her swimsuit during the show on July 17 at South Beach’s The Raleigh hotel.

“I was excited to show my support to the local Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Komen® Affiliate because I truly believe in the cause,” said Carter. “My grandmother struggled with breast cancer and since her diagnosis and passing it has been a very important issue for me.”

Red Carter brand delivers two seasonal swimwear collections a year, in addition to ready-to-wear and mens swimwear. Red Carter swimwear is sold domestically in better department stores such as Barneys New York, Bloomingdales, Intermix, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue and specialty boutiques in Europe and South America.

The Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate’s goal is to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care forall and energizing science to find the cures. The 14th Annual Race for Cure® will be held on October 17 at the Bayfront Park in Miami. For more information, please visit www.komenmiaftl.org.

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Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate is a client of Thorp and Company

Client Susan G. Komen Expands to Include Monroe County

Client Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate is pleased to announce it will not only serve Miami-Dade and Broward County but is expanding to include Monroe County, which spans from Key Largo to Key West. The expanded Affiliate will bring breast health/breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in the area. The goal of the foundation is to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cure.

“We are so excited about our presence in the Florida Keys,” said Bobbi Meyers, executive director for Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate. “The expansion allows us to help those organizations who provide the necessary breast health services and education to the community through outreach and grants.” Meyers added, “Our goal is to assist in creating awareness about breast health and breast cancer.”

The Florida Keys’ lack of resources for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer has increased in the last two to three years. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® affiliates locate and fund unmet breast health needs in the local communities through extensive community health assessments. The Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate found that Monroe County would benefit from grants that support programs that reach the medically underserved.

“The expansion will help us offer resources to women who have limited access to healthcare,” said Betsy Langan, executive director of WomenKind, Inc., a unique healthcare facility that offers medical services specifically addressing women’s concerns in the Florida Keys.

Another organization that is looking forward to the affiliate’s expansion is the Florida Keys Area Health Education Center (FKAHEC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote health and wellness through education, health assessments and professional development using partnerships and other contract-funded services.

“Monroe County has never had a program that offers women breast health/breast cancer education, support and treatment,” said Michael Cunningham, director of the Florida Keys AHEC. “With the support from Komen, residents will now have available resources that are needed in this area.”

The expansion of the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate, which now serves the Florida Keys, earned the strong endorsement of notables, such as U.S Rep. Ros-Lehtinen; Dr. Sanford Yankow, director of Good Health Clinic; Nelson Lazo, CEO of Baptist Mariners Hospital; state Rep. Ron Saunders ; Richard D. Roth, sheriff of Monroe County; Dr. Nilda I. Soto, director of Open Door Health Center and many more.

“Without the strong support of these community leaders the Affiliate’s expansion would have been impossible,” said Patricia Thomson, new affiliate board member of the foundation. “We are taking the first steps to accomplish our main goal of spreading awareness in the Florida Keys.”

The Florida Keys residents are encouraged to get involved in the battle against breast cancer. For more information, contact (305) 383-7116 or e-mail info@komenmiaftl.org. To learn more about the foundation, please visit http://www.komenmiaftl.org/.


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Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate is a client of Thorp and Company

Client Susan G. Komen Fights Cancer On the Water and Behind the Wheel

In April and May breast cancer survivors and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate participated in the fight against cancer by getting out on the water in the local dragon boat race and getting behind the wheel of a Ford.

On April 25 and 26, the second Breast Cancer Survivors World Cup Championship Dragon Boat Race was held in Miami. Save Our Sisters (SOS), founded in 2007, is a dragon boating team comprised of 25 to 30 breast cancer survivors. Dragon boating, which originated in China, signifies unity to the team of survivors. SOS won a silver medal against teams from Australia, Canada and the U.S., but the true victory was the camaraderie within the teams.

SOS’ mission is to show other breast cancer survivors that a great quality of life is possible after treatment by living a positive and proactive lifestyle. Dragon boating is the fastest growing water sport in the world, with more than 200 breast cancer survivor teams worldwide. SOS is the first breast cancer survivor dragon boat racing team in South Florida.

On May 29, about 20 breast cancer survivors, the local Susan G. Komen affiliate’s staff, grantees and board members gathered at Gus Machado Ford of Kendall to test drive a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle as part of the Ford Advantage Plan. This partnership between Ford and Susan G. Komen is based on Ford donating $20 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate for each supporter that test drives a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle through June 13. The local dealership will also match Ford's individual $20 contributions.

Ford is a founding partner of Miami/Ft. Lauderdale’s Race for the Cure® and an official sponsor of the foundation for more than 25 years. Through “Warriors in Pink”, Ford has captured the true essence of survivorship, while celebrating more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors, the largest group of all cancer survivors living in the U.S. today.

Costumers interested in test driving a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle during the Ford Advantage Plan to support Komen, can log on to http://www.fordcares.com/ for more information.

Client Komen Partners with Ford Motor Company

Ford Advantage Plan Test Drive Program to Benefit Komen

In times like these, giving back to the community is more important than ever. As part of the Ford Advantage Plan, Ford has announced it is donating $20 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® in the name of each prospective customer that test drives a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle from now until June 1, 2009, up to $1,000,000.

The participating dealerships in South Florida include:

Fort Lauderdale – Maroone Ford of Ft. Lauderdale
Miami – Metro Ford Inc.
Miami – World Ford/Kendall
Pompano Beach – Pompano Ford Lincoln Mercury
Homestead – Armstrong Ford of Homestead
Hialeah – Gus Machado Ford Inc.
Key West – Duncan Ford-Lincoln-Mercury
Delray Beach – Delray Lincoln Mercury
Delray Beach – Maroone Ford of Delray
Pembroke Pines – Pines Lincoln Mercury

For a list of participating dealerships in other areas please visit www.FordCares.com.

Participating Ford dealerships will also match Ford's individual $20 contribution in the name of each customer, up to $1,000 per dealership. In addition, customers will be able to select the local Komen affiliate of their choice to direct Ford's charitable contribution.

Costumers interested in test driving a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle during the Ford Advantage Plan test drive period can log on to www.FordCares.com and obtain a registration form and registration number. After visiting a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury dealership and test driving a vehicle, dealers will provide customers with a registration code. Customers must then visit www.FordCares.com again to input the registration code, validating their form and activating the donation by Ford in their name.

There’s never been a better time to give back to the community than now. Join the fight against breast cancer and test drive a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle today!

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Susan G. Komen For the Cure Fort Lauderdale/Miami Affilate is a client of Thorp & Company.

Client - Susan G. Komen For the Cure Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate Events

Recently, Commissioner Sally Heyman donated $10,000 and a Romero Britto Painting to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate to be displayed at Komen’s Miami/Ft. Lauderdale office.

Eleven-year-old Lexi Lehrman, who has raised more than $24,000 for Susan G. Komen For the Cure Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate, together with world-renowned pop artist Romero Britto, created a one-of-a-kind artwork of their own interpretation of the breast cancer symbol.

The photos included are of the presentation of the monetary donation and painting by Commissioner Heyman and Lexi Lehrman to Bobbi Meyers, executive director for Susan G. Komen For the Cure Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate.
Coming up...

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Affiliate will also be participating in the upcoming Miami Hong Kong Dragon Boat Race on April 25-26 in Miami. The race will run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the event is open to the public between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The event is expected to draw a crowd of 25,000 spectators. Proceeds from the event will benefit promotion of dragon boat racing in Miami and local charities including Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Team SOS (Save Our Sisters) is a team composed of breast cancer survivors. SOS is the first South Florida BCS Dragon Boat Racing team, and they will be participating in this upcoming race.

• Location: Miami Marine Stadium, 3601 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key Miami, FL 33139
• Cost: $15, pre-sale or $20 at the gate
• For more information visit: http://www.miamidragon.com/festival.html

About Susan G. Komen For the Cure

The Miami/Fort Lauderdale Affiliate is dedicated to saving lives and ending breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures. Since its inception in 1996, the Miami/Fort Lauderdale Race For the Cure® and the Affiliate has raised more than $6 million and reached hundreds of thousands of women and men in educational outreach through grassroots efforts. For more information visit, http://www.komenmiaftl.org/.

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Susan G. Komen For the Cure Miami/Fort Lauderdale Affiliate is a client of Thorp & Company.