Survivors hit the runway to raise funds for Rockville Centre Breast Cancer Coalition

Posted

For more photos of the event, click here
Breast cancer survivors took to the runway on March 10 for the Rockville Centre Breast Cancer Coalition’s second annual Fashion Show at Bridgeview Yacht Club in Island Park.
About 230 people attended the event, which offered an opportunity to wine and dine while models showed off fashionable clothing and accessories from local businesses, including Coquette, Social Threads, Luxe Boutique, Pop Fitness, Ka Pai and Michaels Jewelry Design. The vendors, who sold items during the show, donated a portion of its proceeds back to the Coalition.
“It was amazing,” said Deputy Mayor Kathy Baxley, a breast cancer survivor who serves as vice president of the Coalition and helps lead its two-dozen care counselors. “Every single person had fun.”
Peg McDonald and Erin O’Sullivan founded the Coalition in January 2017. The group has helped more than 30 women diagnosed with breast cancer in the village and its surrounding communities pay for items and services not associated with medical expenses, such as wigs, a babysitter, or even a yoga class. It also provides care counselors to aid those who may need emotional support while fighting the disease.

O’Sullivan said the fashion show, which raised about $10,000 for the Coalition, highlights a sense of sisterhood among the group’s members. “It’s a real good message of women who have beat cancer and are surviving, thriving, creating relationships and bonding,” she said.
The Coalition was recently awarded a $4,000 grant from Pink Aid, an organization that helps underserved and underinsured women survive breast cancer treatment, O’Sullivan added, and it has plans to host a 5-kilometer walk/run in the fall to raise money for metastatic breast cancer research.

To learn more about the Coalition, visit www.rvcbcc.org.