Last year, about 55,000 supporters participated in the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, which took place at Jones Beach in Wantagh. This year, the American Cancer Society is looking for even more supporters, as stated on the event’s details website, to walk for the cure to “provide hope and help to millions of people nationwide whose lives have been forever changed by this disease.”
Old Westbury’s Women United organization is supporting the search for breast cancer’s cure at this year’s walk, and they are seeking students to join them bright and early on October 16th.
Silkisha Sneed, President of Women United, said that quite the handful of students joined their team last year, maintaining a chunk of the supporters in 2010, and they are hoping to have a bigger success this year.
Sneed told The Catalyst that the Women’s Health Center on campus seeks to provide aid for women with general female health concerns, including breast cancer. Women United, she states, is, “a club that has programs and activities” for the health of women. The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk is an event Women United participates in every year, one of many gatherings the club anticipates.
Students may wonder: what’s the big deal about walking for the cure? Well, as Sneed states, “men and women coming together to support, whether it affects them or their family,” provide awareness of breast cancer and hope for the search of its cure, whether one donates or not. The American Cancer Society explains, as stated on the JonesBeach.com event website, that this walk “is a celebration of survivorship, an occasion to express hope, and a shared goal to end [breast cancer], a disease that threatens the lives of so many people we love.” Every individual who promotes, attends, or donates during this walk is doing their part in reaching the goal of finding breast cancer’s cure. “Seeing that togetherness from everyone,” Sneed shares, “is a wonderful feeling.”
To join in the fight against breast cancer, Women United invites all students of Old Westbury to join their team by signing up in the Women’s Health Center in Academic Village Room A-150. Making Strides Against Breast Cancer will walk at Jones Beach on Sunday, October 16th, starting at 8:00 AM in parking fields four and five. So, Old Westbury, get ready to create more pink in our community!