Nikki Rabey, CPC's Event Coordinator, accepts a $5,000 donation from Hug Love Save's Jennifer Scott, Monica Ziegler and Stephanie Corley.
Press Release
By: Stephanie Corley
Spokane, WA- Cancer Patient Care staff were surprised and happy to receive a $5,000 donation recently from Hug Love Save, a local non-profit for breast cancer awareness.
Director Cliff Evans said he knew the donation was coming, but didn’t expect it to be for as much as $5,000. “I was pleasantly surprised over the amount. The ladies from Hug Love Save must be working hard to sell their shirts for their cause, and we are grateful for them, he said.
The members of Hug Love Save are known around Spokane as the Boobie girls, for the creative shirts they sell to raise money for breast cancer awareness. The shirts feature the phrase, “BOOBIES – Hug Them, Love Them, Save Them”, and a new slogan was introduced for this year’s Spokane Race for the Cure, which was “Saving Lives 2 BOOBIES at a Time.” Monica Ziegler, Hug Love Save’s president said, “After a year of experimenting we’ve found that almost everyone loves our shirts, and even if they don’t buy one, we at least get a smile out of them.”
Founded a little over a year ago by Ziegler and her friends - Stephanie Corley, Jennifer Lawson, Renae Wood and Jennifer Scott, this organization has been working hard to raise money. The organization came together when Monica’s mother, Virginia Southmayd was diagnosed with breast cancer. “Watching my mom go through that ordeal and discovering just how many people breast cancer affects, I became determined to make a difference,” said Ziegler. “I’m grateful my friends have stood by me and am proud of our accomplishments over the past year,” she said.
And, in a little over a year, they have made a difference. A total of $22,631 has been donated to the cause so far. “We kicked off last year with a few small events and then had a booth at the Women’s Show for the Spokane Race for the Cure. Last year we were able to raise $9,204 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Eastern Washington Affiliate, and another $8,277 at this year’s Spokane Race for the Cure,” said Ziegler.Hug Love Save was also awarded a booth this year at the Bloomsday tradeshow and committed to donate the proceeds from that weekend to Cancer Patient Care.
“We chose Cancer Patient Care because we truly feel they are a wonderful organization. They go above and beyond to provide cancer patients with wigs, blankets, food and certain medical equipment free of charge. Knowing how cancer can affect a person and knowing the financial toll it has on a family, we wanted to do something to enable them to keep serving patients,” said Ziegler.
Nikki Rabey, Event Coordinator for Cancer Patient Care said, “We knew the shirts were popular, but had no idea they were that popular! We are so thankful for this donation and hope to pair up with Hug Love Save for some future events.”
Ziegler’s mom responded well to treatments and has been given a clean bill of health, but Hug Love Save is not slowing down. “We plan to do a women’s show in Portland this fall and have several things lined up for next year. Hopefully we can double our donation amounts,” said Ziegler.
Rabey, like Ziegler, is the daughter of a cancer survivor and emphasizes how important individual and community action are in the fight against cancer. “We [Cancer Patient Care and Hug Love Save] are local organizations taking action and collaborating with our community to support localcancer patients. Monica is here because cancer dared to invade her family and I am here because cancer dared to invade mine. We are all in this fight together and everyone in every community can make a difference.” Nikki’s mom, Paula Rabey, responded remarkably well to treatment and is a 3-year cancer survivor. June Rouleau, Nikki’s grandma and Paula’s mother, is a 20-year breast cancer survivor.
For more information about Hug Love Save or to buy your own Boobies gear, visit www.huglovesave.com
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Promotional materials and services generously donated by our sponsors.
All event proceeds benefit cancer patients and their families right here in our region.
