FUNDRAISING
Fundraising events are sponsored by Survivors Abreast and their partners to help raise awareness, support research, improve local facilities, and keep the Survivors Abreast afloat.
Glitter Pins
Glitter Pins designed by Nora Deane
When you purchase this symbol for yourself or a friend, you are helping to provide funds to "keep the boat afloat" for the Peterborough and District Survivors Abreast Dragon Boat team and to purchase equipment for the Breast Assessment Center at the Peterborough Regional Health Center.
Shape - The teardrop (loop down) represents the tears shed when we or our loved ones are diagnosed.
Colours - Pink represents the thousands who are diagnosed each year. Black represents the thousands who continue to die each year.
Objective - When the deaths cease, to remove the black insert and wear only the pink in celebration.
History - This 'Pink Teardrop' was conceived and designed in 1992 by Nora Deane, a Breast Cancer survivor. A tradition began that year when Members of Parliament wore the Symbol in the House of Commons for the first time. In 1993, at Rideau Hall, this crystal version was presented to Her Excellency Mrs. Gerda Hnatyshyn and to Mrs. Virginia Kelley, Mother of the President of the United States of America. Over the years, label pins and ribbon versions of this Breast Cancer Symbol have been worn by survivors, their families and supporters all across Canada.
Glitter pins cost $20.00 each and may be purchased at one of three Kawartha Credit Union Branches: 1054 Monaghan Road (743-3643) or 1091 Chemong Road, Chemong Park Plaza (743-7402) or Lansdowne Place Mall (743-1630)
For more information call Barb Fisher at 705-799-5496
PAST EVENTS
Pink Ribbon Ball 2002
Over 400 people attended the third Pink Ribbon Ball, a dinner dance and auction to raise funds for the Breast Assessment Centre at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre. Thanks to the generosity of businesses, volunteers and other members of the community, the event raised over $32,000 for diagnostic equipment for the Breast Assessment Centre
Pink Ribbon Ball 2001
The second Pink Ribbon Ball held on November 3, 2001 was another great success. Over 400 attended and $30, 266 was raised for diagnostic equipment at the Breast Assessment Centre, the PRHC. A big thanks to the community of Peterborough for the tremendous support!
Liberty Mutual Day on the Water, held on Saturday, June 16th at Little Lake, Del Crary Park, Peterborough.
Close to $50,000 was raised through this exciting event. The highlight of the day was a dragon boat festival - a first for Peterborough. Twenty-six local teams, four survivor teams, and four Liberty Mutual teams raced on a 450 meter course on Little Lake. Going on at the same time was the third Great Kawartha Canoe-a-thon across the lake and Liberty Mutual's Family Fun Day activities for its employees and the public.
First place went to the Dragon Flyers, a group made up of the YMCA master swim team with a time of 2:09:27 minutes. Team 911, a group of local firefighters, paramedics, police officers and staff from the Peterborough Regional Health Centre, came in second with a time of 2:09:95.
The three organizers, Survivors Abreast, the Peterborough Family YMCA, and the Canadian Canoe Museum, and the event sponsor, Liberty Mutual Group, thank the Peterborough community for all their support in making the day a great success.
The proceeds are split amongst the three organizations and the funds on behalf of Survivors Abreast are directed to the Breast Assessment Center.
Article by Jennifer Logan - Peterborough Examiner
Who let the 'dawgs' out?
"Paddles up!" shouts Sue from her perch on the bow of our dragon boat.
Twenty paddlers are poised at the ready, awaiting the next command. The gun sounds. With five long strong strokes, we begin the 450 metre championship race of the first-ever Peterborough Dragon Boat competition along the shores of Little Lake.
Sue orders us to"Hit!" We quicken and shorten our stroke. We paddle to the rhythm of the drum, which Sue beats with rhythmic alacrity.
"Hit!…Hit!…Hit!…Keep it together!" she shouts.
We are aggressive and hungry for speed. The drum sounds.
We reach, we hit, we pull the water with short, strong strokes. The drum sounds and our paddles hit again. We are together. Synchronization is key.
Strength and endurance is important but synchronization makes every stroke count.
The Draggin' Dawgs with their boat of many colours surges forward.
We are fast but so are our competitors. This is the final of two qualifying races and nothing is held back.
Adrenaline propels us like never before.
Having assembled and practiced for only an hour, we didn't think that we were capable of reaching the final.
But we did.
We are a sleeper team, a group of ragtag athletes with not much athleticism but an enthusiastic will.
The Draggin Dawgs are inspired.
"Do it for the girls," Sue shouts. She refers to the friends, the wives, the mothers who are fighting breast cancer.
Some of the proceeds of the race will go to the Breast Assessment Center in Peterborough.
And each member on the boat is paddling for a loved one who had suffered the pain and loss caused by breast cancer, making our ride an emotional one as well as physically challenging one.
We reach the 350-metre mark. Backs ache, arms tire.
Four boats, each having 20 paddlers, a drummer and a coxswain continue to jockey for position.
The beat of the drum quickens. And so do our paddles. But it has been a long day.
We lose focus.
The rhythm and the synchronization so important to the power of our dragon boat are lost. Two boats surge ahead.
"Together", Sue shouts. She is relentless.
We refocus, listen to the beat of the drum and regain momentum.
But there are only 50 metres left. Can we make the distance?
"Hit", shouts Sue.
We dig deeper and paddle harder. We hear the roar from the crowd.
We cross the finish line but in fourth place. We are exhausted, spent, and a little disappointed.
As we pile out of the boat, we congratulate the winning team.
They are a strong and worthy group consisting of marathoners, triathletes, swimmers and last year's alternate for the Olympic kayaking team.
When learning of the caliber of athletes on the winning boat, one Draggin Dawg says…"Wow. Considering that all I do is walk to the corner store for some Rolos…heck…we did really well."
And she's right. We did.
Congratulations to Survivors Abreast!
The team tied first place in the Kinsmen Service Award for Best Service Float in the Starlight - Starbright Santa Claus Parade 2000 in Peterborough. A special thanks to Heather Wilson, team member, and her husband Gordon, for their leadership and hard work designing and building the float. And thanks to all their helpers!Pink Ribbon Ball
Almost 370 people attended the Pink Ribbon Ball, a successful dinner dance sponsored by Survivors Abreast and the Peterborough Breast Cancer Support Group on October 28, 2000 at the Rock Haven. Peterborough's Mayor, Syliva Sutherland and Liberal MP, Peter Adams dropped by to show their support. Rusland's Auctioneers auctioned off several items donated by individual supporters, local businesses and community organizations. Later in the evening, The Kountry Klassics livened up the crowd with their toe-tapping music.
The proceeds of the event went towards diagnostic equipment for the new Breast Assessment Centre at the PRHC.
Sears-Clinique, Landsdowne Mall, Peterborough, promoted Breast Cancer Awareness and Survivors Abreast Team's Anniversary on October 21, 2000. The dragon boat, on display in the aisle of the cosmetic department, attracted many interested shoppers who helped to celebrate with a piece of anniversary cake.Peterborough Relay 2000 Trailfest. Peterborough is one of several communities participating in the Trans Canada Trail Relay 2000 to link up the longest shared-used recreational trail in the world - 16, 100 kilometres. At Del Crary Park on August 30, 2000, a Pancake Breakfast kicked off the morning celebrations followed by remarks by local dignitaries, Trail officials, and members of volunteer and community groups.
Survivors Abreast was honored as an official carrier in the symbolic "passing of the waters".
The team paddled across Little Lake arriving at Roger's Cove with the two flasks of ocean waters drawn from the Arctic and Pacific. On September 9, 2000, in a final ceremony in the National Capital Region waters from the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific will be poured into a special Trans Canada Trail Fountain.