Inspiring and helping others

For the past three years, Cedarhurst resident Sondra Rose has been the top fundraiser among her Team in Training partners, who raise money to support cancer research. But beyond all the dollars she has raised, the septuagenarian is an inspiration to others, and that combination is why she is the Herald’s 2015 Person of the Year.
There were more than 50,000 participants in the 2015 New York City Marathon in November, and many ran — or even walked — faster than Rose, 78. But when the Far Rockaway native crossed the finish line after more than nine hours of walking, her accomplishment was more than personal satisfaction.
She raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, inspired by her grandson, Jack Rose, 11, who has been in remission for the past several years following two years of chemotherapy treatments. Jack was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2008. Rose also walked the marathon to benefit Woodmere resident Alan Queen, who is battling the same disease. “I think she does a tremendous job, and it’s terrific,” said Queen, whose wife, Elissa, connected with Rose earlier this year.
In 1999, Rose’s daughter, Stephanie, challenged her to create a fundraiser for diabetes research after Rose had begun raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund and the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation following the diagnosis of a friend’s grandson with Type 1 diabetes.
That undertaking spawned an idea to offer discounted trips to three spas — Canyon Ranch, in Tucson, Ariz., and Lenox, Mass.; Miraval, in Tucson; and Lake Austin, in Austin, Texas — for guests who would then donate (now a minimum of $100) to charity. Donations now benefit the LLS. Rose said she has raised $200,000 for diabetes research, and $350,000 — nearly half of that in the past three years — for the LLS. The spa trips raise more.
“Despite gray hair and some wrinkles, anything is possible,” she said. “Seniors can accomplish a great deal. Just believe in yourself, stay active and be optimistic. I’m 78, but feel like I’m 50.”