More than 26,000 committed supporters hit the streets of nine American cities last year in a team effort to eradicate the leading cancer among women through City of Hope’s Walk for Hope to Cure Breast Cancer campaign.
Organizers raised more than $2.7 million through corporate sponsorships, team participation and the continued support of thousands of dedicated volunteers.
Actress Andrea Evans, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor, served as national celebrity ambassador for the seventh year.
The top three walks of 2007 were held in Los Angeles, Chicago and Phoenix. On Nov. 18, more than 8,000 supporters generated more than $850,000 in Los Angeles, even though the event had to be rescheduled more than a month after its original date due to poor air quality resulting from local wildfires. On Oct. 14, more than 2,500 participants raised more than $360,000 in Chicago. In Phoenix, more than 4,000 contributors reaped more than $250,000 in donations on Oct. 7.
Additional Walks were held in San Diego, San Francisco, Edison, N.J., Seattle, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
For the second year in a row, the “C is for Courage, S is for Strength” team generated the most donations nationwide, bringing in more than $42,000. One of the team’s members, Chelli Fishman, once again finished as the nation’s top individual fundraiser, generating contributions exceeding $15,000.
Marking its seventh year with Walk for Hope, Wells Fargo served as a national sponsor, along with 3M Post-it Super Sticky Notes and Good Housekeeping magazine. Hilton HHonors also returned as a national sponsor, offering prizes for participants, as well as certificates for free hotel stays for top fundraisers. Sandals/Beaches also continued as a national sponsor and awarded Walk for Hope’s top fundraisers nationwide with resort stays. Rounding out the list of national sponsors, Sebastian returned and expanded its sponsorship to include the Wella and Graham Webb brands.
“Due to increased sponsor and team participation in 2007, we continued to increase the effectiveness of our fundraising efforts,” said Raymur Sweeney, director of national events, noting that Albertsons/Savon signed on as a local presenting sponsor for both the Los Angeles and San Diego walks and put together the largest corporate teams in both areas. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who helped to make this past season such an extraordinary success.”
Since its inception, Walk for Hope has raised more than $25 million for breast cancer research, treatment and education programs at City of Hope.
