Charmaine Gordon, President of Synergy Women’s Fitness, and Synergy Pilates and Yoga, and Howard County Bank CEO, Mary Ann Scully, are joining forces to co-present Zumba & Yoga for Pink, an event to raise awareness of the fight against breast cancer and to raise funds for The Red Devils.

“Zumba & Yoga for Pink is our grassroots effort to get everyone involved in raising awareness and raising funds,” says Charmaine. “As a breast cancer survivor, Charmaine is a testament to the importance of early detection, and knows the impact the disease can have not only on the individual, but also on family and friends. Think ‘six degrees of separation’—everybody knows somebody, who knows somebody… who has been touched by breast cancer and would be willing to make a donation.”

If you enjoy Zumba, the fun-filled and uplifting Latin dance fitness class, or prefer to get centered through yoga offerings, join Charmaine, Mary Ann, and others who are raising their hands to be counted in the fight against breast cancer. The suggested minimum donation is $25.

More information is available at www.zumbayogaforpink.com.

WHEN: Saturday, October 18, 2008 10am-3pm

WHERE: Synergy Women’s Fitness
             8815 Columbia 100 Parkway, Suite 2
             Columbia, MD 21045
                And
             Synergy Pilates & Yoga
             8827 Columbia 100 Parkway, Suite 1
             Columbia, MD 21045
(Same parking lot—building across the driveway)

Dear Friends:

On behalf of the board of directors and staff, we are pleased to offer this report highlighting our work during 2007. This year marks five years of funding support services that improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients and their families. What began as a team of Jessica Cowling’s and Ginny Schardt’s loved ones walking in The Race for the Cure in 2002 is now a beautifully-crafted patchwork of compassionate, caring, and committed individuals, organizations, businesses, and agencies. The thousands of you joining us along the way represent the inspirational diversity of place, circumstance, and calling that are so vital to advancing the mission and vision of our founders. Since our early years, we have seen our impact expand from a handful of patients at one hospital, to assisting hundreds each year through 28 hospitals and more than 40 service providers. In 2002, we spent $105 to fund support services for breast cancer patients. This year, those investments total more than $165,000. In the span of five years, we received national and local acclaim for our uniquely beneficial role in a patient’s breast cancer journey. We were hailed as one of Oprah Winfrey’s “favorite things,” heralded as a “Healthcare Hero” by The Daily Record, and featured in several regional newspapers and magazines. For us, however, the true measure of our achievements and value is in the differences we make in the lives of families receiving support services, the practitioners who make those referrals for their patients, the providers who offer quality care and service, and the contributors who generously offer their talent and treasure. As we report on our stewardship of your interest, we want to share their voices with you. They guide us each and every day.

We have achieved so much in such a short time, but as long as breast cancer exists, the need for our support will continue to grow. In Maryland there are 4,200 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year. In 2007, we touched the lives of 452 patients living with the disease. With your help, we will improve the quality of life for even more Maryland families. We hope you will accept our invitation to become a Quality of Life Donor and make the commitment to our annual fund. Your generosity shows you understand the importance of building our capacity to affect the lives of every Maryland breast cancer patient, if need be. Everyone in their own way can help us reach the goal of expanding our impact. We will stitch together your annual gifts—no matter the size—to create a patchwork of comfort and support that will stretch across the state.

We are reminded each day about how much your support matters. As one patient shared with us, “There is comfort in knowing that there was support for and experience with what is needed during treatment.” Without you, easing her burdens and those of thousands just like her would not have been possible. We hope knowing that gives you comfort.

Read more here: the-red-devils.org/mediabucket/The-Red-Devils-2007-Annual-Report.pdf

Bring your friends, family, and associates together for a purpose when you host a Tastes of Compassion private wine tasting in your home, office, or other location. Everyone will enjoy tasting wines from boutique wineries representing different regions around the world, guided by a Wine Express consultant. At the conclusion of your tasting, you and your guests may purchase any of the featured wines, and Wine Express will donate 15% of sales to The Red Devils!

How It Works

Wines for your tasting will be provided, poured, and discussed by wine experts from Wine Express. Their representative will come to your home with six to eight boutique wines, glasses, artisan cheeses, and gourmet crackers for you and up to 24 guests. The wine and food are provided courtesy of Wine Express. Wine Express features different wines each month; however, their staff can customize a tasting to your preferences. Wines ordered during your tasting are delivered to you within 10 days for your guests to pick up or can be delivered directly to your guests.

Hosting is Simple

To arrange your Tastes of Compassion house party, call or email The Red Devils. We can discuss scheduling options and refer you to your Wine Express consultant. We also will send you your Host Kit that will include all the materials and information you need to make the tasting an enjoyable and successful event.

About Wine Express

Wine Express creates intimate in-home wine tastings, corporate events and is partnering with The Red Devils to help raise funds for breast cancer patients and their families. Co-founded by Rita Blackwell and Jerry Edwards, Wine Express presents wine in a way that is fun, accessible, and unintimidating. Rita holds a Certification for Wine Studies from the French Culinary Institute in New York City where she studied under the world renowned Andrea Immer-Robinson, master sommelier and dean of wine studies. Jerry is owner and Corporate Chef of Chef’s Expressions Catering and Consulting, and Elements by Chef’s Expressions. He has won over 30 industry competitions including three ACF Gold Medals. Rita and Jerry believe wine is as multidimensional as food, and evokes a spirit in people that is undeniable. Their mission is to bring a fresh, modern, non-typical pretense to the world of wine. For more information about Wine Express, visit them at www.wineexpresstastings.com.

Ready to Get Started

Call or send an email to Jan Wilson (410.323.0135 or jan@the-red-devils.org). She’ll answer any questions you may have and will work closely with you to plan your event.

Cheers!

The Red Devils is one of the 700 charities eligible for support during the 2008 Maryland Charity Campaign. If you are a State employee or retiree, take advantage of this easy way to help fund services to improve the quality of life for patients and their families living with breast cancer. If you don’t qualify but know someone who does, please share this information with them. 

The Maryland Charity Campaign runs annually from September through November, with payroll deductions commencing in January. When you receive your pledge card, enter The Red Devils agency code, 7209, and the amount you wish to contribute as a lump sum or have deducted from your payroll throughout the year. 

As always, we will put your payroll deduction donation to good use. 

• Five people giving $10 per month will make certain one more patient has a roundtrip ride to treatment each month
• Three people donating $25 per month will help us provide one more house cleaning service each month
• Your $35 contribution per month over 12 months is enough to ensure eight weeks of roundtrip rides for one patient
• $50 a month will help us add at least six patients and their families to our meals and groceries service
• A gift of $100 a month will ease the prescription drug co-payment burdens of four to six patients

Monthly donations are the most cost-effective way to give. Giving monthly allows The Red Devils to plan most effectively for how we can make the greatest impact on the lives of breast cancer patients and their families.   

Thank you for supporting The Red Devils! 

Shattering the image of a traditional fundraiser, this progressive, arts driven event benefits the distinct needs of Maryland breast cancer patients

The Red Devils, Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, and Kids Konnected will be recognized to honor their missions to address often overlooked needs of breast cancer patients.

Join The Larry and Lori Lickstein Foundation for this provocative multi-sensory experience, both visceral and intellectual. Don your black tie and sneakers and hit the ground running to celebrate the true glamour and grit of survival at the inaugural Steps to the Cure.

The Foundation – started by a local plastic surgeon and his wife – hopes you are intrigued by this vision of a provocative and imaginative event, and excited by our pledge that this event will be different! Embrace the Steps to the Cure by becoming a sponsor or guest, and we look forward to seeing you in October, whether in high tops or heels.

 

Highlights of the Evening

on the runway | Breast cancer survivors will claim the catwalk, showcasing unique fashions created by designers hand-selected from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

on the mic | Maryland native Christian Siriano, winner of Bravo TV’s Project Runway will be a celebrity guest for the evening. His cutting edge designs are developing a presence in modern American fashion and his cheeky, witty personality will be on display, narrating the evening runway event. Fierce!

on the auction floor | The Ace of Cakes, Duff Goldman, and each of the designers at Charm City Cakes will contribute artistic and edgy interpretations of the evening’s shoe motif. The Food Network stars will create a total of eleven cakes for the evening: original confectionary art for your bid. To tempt local fashionistas an original Christian Siriano design will be on the auction block as well.

on the palate | A unique selection of inspired cocktails, fabulous appetizers, and an artful dinner from one of Baltimore’s most inspiring chefs.

on the go | Guests will return home with an artisan crafted “shoebox” brimming with high end schwag and goodies to pamper all the senses.

To purchase tickets or make a donation go to www.stepstothecure.com

 

Thanks to more than 550 Strollers, 450 donors, 50 volunteers, and scores of generous sponsors and in-kind supporters, Maryland families living with breast cancer can be assured of The Red Devils funding services that improve their quality of life. Your collective efforts raised more than $111,000 to pay for essential support services in 2008.  

While the patients we serve were this year’s biggest winners, we’d like to acknowledge once again special achievements and outstanding performances by many of you. This year’s winners of the Reddies for High-Dollar Strollers were:

• Chris Schardt and Friends of Ginny
• Ronda Badiang and Ronda’s Fight to Survive
• The Goils
• Kathy Worthington
• Angels in Disguise
• Hillis-Carnes Engineering
• Peg Stanley
• Judy Clayton
• Joan Worthington
• Tricia Thomas
• Trish Kane
• Kathleen Harvey
• Lauren Baker
• Joanne Anderson
• High Strollers

The Reddies for outstanding performances by an individual, team, family, and for the most team spirit were awarded to:

• Sherry Newman (Most Money Raised by an Individual, $6,365)
• GSH USA Walking for Howard Tom White (Most Money Raised by a Team, $12,130)
• Jamie Reynolds and Family (Most Money Raised by a Family, $4,085)
• Ronda’s Fight to Survive (Most Team Spirit, 56 people recruited and $6,270 raised)

To enjoy images from this year’s Stroll, click here. If you have Stroll pictures you would like to have included in our online gallery, please email them to info@the-red-devils.org. We’ll post as many pictures as we can. 

Thank you for joining us at Centennial Lake, for braving the heat, and for making this year’s Stroll the biggest and best ever. We look forward to seeing you next year. 

The Red Devils 

P.S. If you would like to help plan the 2009 Heart and Sole Stroll, please contact Jan Wilson at jan@the-red-devils.org . New committee members are always welcome. 

2008 Heart and Sole Stroll Schedule

• Please remember to join us at the stage at 11am for the prize announcements.
• Staff will be wearing red shirts and can assist you throughout the day.
• If you are a member of a team, check in at the team table for team info
• If you are a volunteer, check in at the volunteer table.

Schedule:

8am - 10am - registration and shirt pick up.
9am - 11am - Children’s activities and food available in the TRD village.
9:30 am - team photos - gather your team near the team table for a photograph
10am - Stroll begins! Start at the balloon arch across from the stage. The gong will sound the official start
11am - closing ceremonies and prize distribution
11:30 - Enjoy picnicking in the park!

Map of the area

Directions to Centennial Lake:

From Baltimore:
Take 70 West to 29 South to 108 West and look for the Red Devils signs
Or take 95 South to 100 West to 29 South to 108 West

From DC:
Take 29 North to 108 West and look for the Red Devils signs
Or take 95 North to 32 West to 29 North to 108 West

---

Biggest Fund-raiser of the Year Benefits MD Patients and Families Living with Breast Cancer

BALTIMORE, MD June 5, 2008 – Driving a car. Cleaning a house. Feeding kids. Attending business meetings. All in a day’s work for many, but try it after hours of a chemotherapy drip, a whopping dosage of radiation or surgery to remove one or both breasts.

This is where The Red Devils steps in, to provide services for Maryland patients and families living with breast cancer – the kinds of services that make life just a bit easier for those in a life-or-death struggle.

Sunday, June 8 is the group’s biggest fund-raiser: The Heart and Sole Stroll at Centennial Park in Columbia, MD. The non-competitive 2.4 mile stroll starts with 9:00 a.m. registration followed by the 10:00 a.m. walk and features entertainment for youngsters as well as a chance to exercise for charity’s sake.

Everyone is invited, including the family dog (on leash). Individual registration is $35; the fee for families is just $70. Pets are free. People may register in advance online at www.the-red-devils.org or arrive early on event day to sign up. Flyers also are available at select area Giant Food locations.

Social worker and nurse coordinators at 28 partner hospitals and breast centers in BaltimoreCity as well as Allegheny, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard and WashingtonCounties plus areas of the Eastern Shore refer patients to Red Devils service providers who help patients and their families better cope with the stress and demands of breast cancer. Services include arranging transportation to and from treatment; buying and delivering meals and groceries; house cleaning; and prescription drug co-pay assistance.

Recipients of Red Devils services tell the story the best, for funds collected go directly to support people such as Vonnie Uzoukwu, a breast cancer survivor who underwent her surgery a year ago last May with Dr. Gauri Bedi in The Hoffberger Breast Center; had chemotherapy with Mercy medical oncologist Dr. David Riseberg and radiation with Dr. Maria Jacobs, director of radiation oncology at Mercy.

“The Red Devils sent me meals, provided transportation, assistance with co-pays, assistance with pain medication. They helped me out a lot and are great,” says Uzoukwu, a mother of four.

The Red Devils even provides funding for such stress-reducing services as acupuncture and massage. Uzoukwu came to Mercy’s Medi Spa for those treatments and now is employed there.

Says Uzoukwu, “I run into a lot of breast cancer patients at the Medi Spa and share information with them about The Red Devils and how they can help. In fact, I still call them and get assistance myself. It’s a super organization.”

Jo Anne Morgan learned about The Red Devils through Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), where she received chemo and radiation treatments.

“GBMC arranged through The Red Devils to have Merry Maids come to my house and clean. It was a true God-send, for I was so weakened and sick from the chemo. My husband cared for me at that time, as well as being full-time primary caregiver for my 91-year-old mother who needs constant attention. He was trying to take care of everything domestic, so The Red Devils provided great relief by having Merry Maids clean the house,” says Morgan.

Patricia Fitzgerald, of Hanover, MD, was referred to The Red Devils by BaltimoreWashingtonMedicalCenter. She received the diagnosis in February of 2006 — stage four metastatic breast cancer — according to husband Damien, who says the family could not have pulled through without the support of The Red Devils and the exceptional medical treatment, some experimental, provided.

“I’d have co-pays ranging from $80 - $100 a month, plus bills for doctor visits. It was just adding up to be too much and then we (lost our source of income). I started calling around to agencies for help and didn’t get anywhere. We would not have survived without The Red Devils and I can tell you, I plan to live for a very long time,” says Fitzgerald, also the mother of four.

According to The Red DevilsExecutive Director Jan Wilson, Sunday’s event will have plenty of children’s activities – including face painting, games and entertainment – plus booths staffed by representatives from The Red Devils’ partner hospitals and breast centers. Strollers may take full advantage of CentennialPark’s playground, rent canoes and paddleboats and reserve tennis courts throughout the day. The first 500 strollers will receive a free t-shirts and four-legged friends will receive special Red Devils gifts as well.

Companies throughout the area are sponsoring teams and registering to start funds coming in to The Red Devils even prior to the June 8 event date. To promote friendly competition, The Red Devils is offering The Reddie Award in four categories: “Most Money Raised by an Individual;” “Most Money Raised by a Family Team;” “Most Money Raised by a Corporate Team;” and “Most Team Spirit.”

Main sponsors this year include HowardCountyGeneralHospital, Aegon Transamerica Foundation and Merritt Properties as well as in-kind sponsors. Media sponsors are ABC2 Baltimore (WMAR-TV), WWMX-FM Radio, and Smart Woman magazine. Emcees for the event are ABC 2’s Mary Beth Marsden and MIX 106.5’s JoJo Girard.

The Red Devils began in 2002 investing $105 in services. Six years later that number has grown to about $175,000 and that growth – plus unique services offered – is what caught the eye of media maven Oprah Winfrey, who included a Red Devils story in a book of “100 Favorite O Magazine Stories” recently published. The Red Devils expects to expand services this year with funds collected from events such as The Heart and Sole Stroll as well as contributions from foundations including The Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Several area hospitals have stepped up to the plate, donating dollars as well as fielding teams for the cause: Anne Arundel Hospital Center; Baltimore Washington Medical Center; Harbor Hospital; Howard County General Hospital; the Johns Hopkins Breast Center; and Mercy Hospital, whose newest breast surgeon Dr. Dalliah Mashon Black just donated a $500 “Profiles in Philanthropy Award” she recently received from Associated Black Charities to The Red Devils cause.

The Red Devilswas founded in memory of two Marylanders who fought breast cancer with grace and courage – Jessica Cowling and Ginny Schardt – who refused to be defined by their disease. Jessica died in July 2002 and Ginny in August 2002 at the respective ages of 31 and 44. The name comes from a breast cancer treatment drug nicknamed the Red Devil because of its brilliant red hue.

For more information, call The Red Devils 410-323-0135 or log on to www.the-red-devils.org

Photos: A contact sheet of photos from past year’s strolls is available at http://the-red-devils.org/media/pressphotos/

MEDIA CONTACT:

Liz Chuday 410-464-1100; Cell phone: 443-794-4809; liz@the-red-devils.org

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/05/16/news/local_news/newsstory5.txt
By Erica Kritt, carrollcountytimes.com Times Staff Writer Friday, May 16, 2008

The Red Hat Riders are saddling up to find a cure for breast cancer.

Vicki Sadler, a member of the Red Hat Riders, said the group felt they needed to do something to help fight a disease that has affected the some of its members.

“All of us had friends that either won, lost or are enduring a battle with breast cancer,” Sadler said.

Two years ago, the group decided to participate in a charity ride for breast cancer in Pennsylvania.

Sadler, who had planned to attend, couldn’t because a friend of hers died the week of the ride from breast cancer.

“The day of the ride was the day of her funeral,” Sadler said. “Saying ‘you’re sorry’ is great, but do something about that.”

Sadler researched organizations and found The Red Devils, an organization she said she wanted to support.

Founded in 2002, The Red Devils, headquartered in Baltimore, are a nonprofit that provides hands-on help to breast cancer patients with cleaning, cooking and transportation.

The Red Hat Riders organized a benefit ride to be held this Saturday at the League of Maryland Horsemen in Marriottsville.

Jan Wilson, executive director of The Red Devils, said the money that is being raised by Saturday’s ride will be going straight to Marylanders who have breast cancer and their families.

“Regrettably, the need for the support services we fund will continue to grow,” Wilson wrote in an e-mail. “Each year, we invest more funds in providing patients with quality-of-life enhancing assistance.”

In 2007, the nonprofit was able to respond to more than 2,000 requests for help, and spent more than $165,000, according to Wilson.

Sadler said she is expecting to raise close to $10,000 from Saturday’s ride. While she said that $10,000 is just a drop in the bucket, if more people got together to do something more money could be raised.

“If people can step out of their box a little bit then they can make a difference in people’s lives,” Sadler said.

Reach staff writer Erica Kritt at 410-857-7876 or erica.kritt@carrollcountytimes.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Ride the Trail to a Cure

When: 10 a.m. Saturday

Where: The League of Maryland Horsemen, 8067 Henryton Road, Marriottsville

Cost: The event is on a sponsor basis, those who are donating $50 or more will receive lunch

Information: Riders are welcome but the grounds will be closed to spectators. E-mail trailtoacure@gmail.com or call 410-549-9344 or visit ridetothecure.kintera.org.

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/05/16/news/local_news/newsstory5.txt