Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

This year I participated in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Concord, NH for the first time. I was part of a team of men and women from work. We held a bake sale, had a silent auction, and allowed employees to wear jeans for two weeks for a donation to raise funds. Our team, named Save the Cleavage, raised $2,763 and placed 29th in fund-raising among the 191 teams! I'm very proud of all of us. All in all the Concord walk raised $529,498 and had more than 3000 people come to Making Strides this year. Our Greater Concord NH community continues to lead the state with half a million dollars raised again this year! I also heard that per capita the Concord walk raises more than any other walk in the US!

I'd say the weather, which was at its worst during the walk, definitely kept many walkers away this year. Last year, more than 5,000 people walked the course. This year, there were 191 teams but only between 2,500 and 3,000 walkers. Yes, Mother Nature pulled out all the stops. At first it was just sprinkling, windy and about 43 degrees. Cold! Then it started to rain and as we walked out of Memorial Field it started to snow. And it continued to snow during the entire 5-mile walk. We walked up Clinton Street from Memorial Field all the way to the road that the Audubon Society is on. Yes, for any of you that know Concord, you know that means walking up a giant hill. We walked through St. Paul's School, down Pleasant and cut through Pleasant Hill Retirement Home then back to Memorial Field. It was a very pretty walk with the leaves turning color and the snow falling. Even our cold hands, wet feet and pants couldn't dampen our spirits.