For the third consecutive year, Susan G. Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure participants have the opportunity to share their voice, honor a loved one and inspire a strong fight against breast cancer May 9 at Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park.
Komen Pittsburgh and the Neighborhood Ford Store will provide swatches of pink cloth for the more than 30,000 race participants to make their mark against breast cancer before and after the 18th annual Mother’s Day race. The personalized patches, created and collected at the “Patchwork Station” at the Ford display near the finish line, will be sewn together to create colorful “Warrior Quilts” in recognition of all those who stand up to breast cancer. The goal is to collect more than 4,000 patches, twice the number collected last year.
“Every year we are humbled by the courage shown by survivors and the dedication of race volunteers, attendees and supporters,” said Kathy Wagler, owner of Crivelli Ford in Aliquippa, Pa., and a breast cancer survivor. Wagler is Komen for the Cure chair of the 85 dealers that are known as the Neighborhood Ford Store. “As a longtime partner of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Neighborhood Ford Store is honored to share this day with them and we invite all to make their mark on a Warrior Quilt.”
“The Warrior Quilt program is a wonderful way for people to encourage a friend in tough times, celebrate another day as a strong family, or honor memories of those who have lost their battle with breast cancer,” said Kathy Purcell, executive director of the Pittsburgh Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “There are countless reasons why more than 35,000 people will come out again for this year’s Pittsburgh Race for the Cure. The Warrior Quilt program provides them an opportunity to express those reasons in a meaningful way.”
Fabric swatches and decorative items will be provided at the “Patchwork Station” at the Ford display in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park on Flagstaff Hill from 6:30-10 a.m. for people to make their contribution to the Warrior Quilt project. The completed five-inch-square patches will be sewn together to create quilts that serve as a reminder of how this disease impacts so many individuals, while symbolizing the unifying fight to defeat it.
Once completed, the quilts will be donated to the Pittsburgh Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to promote awareness of the disease. Last October, completed Warrior Quilts were presented to breast cancer hospitals and treatment centers in Pittsburgh, Windber, Pa., Wheeling, W.Va., and Morgantown, W.Va. The Neighborhood Ford Store also presented completed Warrior Quilts to four women in a random drawing, which will be repeated again this year. Information about how to win one of this year’s completed Warrior Quilts can be found at www.QuiltForTheCure.com.
People wanting to participate in the Warrior Quilt project but unable to attend the Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure can send their five-inch-by-five-inch cotton, decorated swatches to: Warrior Quilt Project, c/o St. John & Partners, 681 Andersen Dr., Building 6, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA 15220.
Decorated fabric squares should be mailed by May 18.
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