2008 Walk Attracts Over 400 Walkers with Fundraising Efforts Approaching $1 Million Milestone

The Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation (TBBCF) is pleased to announce that the annual fundraiser, Walk Across Southeastern Connecticut, nearly tripled its participation base. On Saturday, October 4th over 400 walkers participated in the walking marathon and relay from Old Saybrook to Waterford, CT. Plus, with the tremendous fundraising efforts of this year's walkers, the total foundation fundraising dollars since 2006 is approaching $1 million.

The walk was completed by individuals walking the 26.2-mile marathon and by teams of two or five, dividing the distance between team members with each walker raising funds for breast cancer research. Please click here to enjoy all the photos of the day courtesy of Shawn Stiles

"We are thrilled with the response. This year we changed the format of the event to include relay teams which certainly contributed to the expansion in participation," said Sandy Maniscalco, Co-founder and Executive Director of TBBCF.

The walk began at Saybrook Point and traveled through Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, East Lyme and Waterford, ending at Camp Harkness with a closing ceremonies celebration. The opening ceremony was led by WXLM talk show host Lee Elci and included local author and breast cancer survivor, Laura Fitzpatrick-Nagel, who penned a memoir titled Swimming on My Wedding Day. Additionally, walkers were inspired by Geralyn McPhail, sister of TBBCF founder Norma Logan, and Ashley and Melanie Brodeur, daughters of the late Terri Brodeur.

The closing ceremonies celebration included live music from local band Fat Betty and a special performance by Jill Nesi featuring her song inspired by her participation in the 2007 Walk Across Southeastern CT. The keynote speaker was a 2006 TBBCF research grant recipient, Dr. Samit Chatterjee, from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, who assured walkers and supporters that fundraising efforts are directly helping ground-breaking research in understanding breast cancer at the fundamental molecular level.

TBBCF is a local, non-profit group committed to fighting breast cancer by donating 100% of gross fundraising dollars to research. In the first two years, 2006-2007, the foundation raised $700,000, translating into seven separate research grants. With the increased response to this year's walk, the total foundation fundraising dollars since 2006 is approaching $1 million. Based on current fundraising projections for 2008, the foundation is expecting to award at least three $100,000 grants, and possibly four. The 2008 research grant recipients will be announced in January 2009.