Home Sweet Home, New Adventures Ahead

After 16 years in Costa Mesa, we are moving! On Monday, March 27, our new address will be 2817 McGaw Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614. We invite you to join us at our open house on Friday, April 21st from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to check out our new home and enjoy some refreshments.  It’ll be the perfect opportunity for you to tour our office, get to know us and learn about our services! No need to RSVP, just show up and say hello.

Moving boxes piling up in our Costa Mesa office

Of the 13 Susan G. Komen Orange County staff members, some have been here for 11 years, others for 11 months. Nevertheless, this move feels bittersweet as we’ve all created memories associated with this office, and the inspiring survivors, supporters and volunteers who’ve crossed our paths. On the other hand, we’re really looking forward to the new office, the exciting beginning of a new chapter in serving more women and saving more lives! Here are some of our best moments, most inspiring stories and thoughts on our new adventure ahead:

What is your best memory associated with this office?

Julie (Director of Marketing): The day I came in to interview for the position. I was so nervous driving to the office, not knowing that to expect. The interview process was nerve-wrecking and I remember telling myself, “What’s meant to be will be,” and here I am six years later loving what I do! Now, I feel like this place and my co-workers have become like a second home and family.

Danielle (Special Events & Race for the Cure Teams Coach): I have enjoyed interacting with the many different groups meeting in our conference room (Race committee, Pink Tie Ball committee, Race Teams, volunteer and survivor groups). Our Team Captain Rallies, and hearing about the inspiring stories behind their involvement with Race for the Cure are among my favorite moments in the office.

LarLeslie (Circle of Promise Community Resource Advocate): I’ve enjoyed most working with an inspiring and compassionate staff and meeting and planning with the African-American Breast Health Partnership to increase awareness and improve breast cancer outcomes in the community.

Do you have a story about an event, a meeting, an encounter that took place in this office that inspired you, touched you or had an impact on you?

Lisa (Executive Director): An event that sticks with me is a candlelight reception we held in the courtyard, where we shared stories about friends, families, and acquaintances who had been taken by breast cancer, remembering their courage, commitment, hopes and fears.

Robin (Circle of Caring/Development): Each day, we have an opportunity to change the path for someone who comes to us for help. I discovered this when a survivor, Ann, showed up at our office, devastated and in shock. She had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and was scheduled for a mastectomy very soon. She didn’t know what to do, had little understanding of her own diagnosis or treatment plan, and had no idea what to tell her 12-year old autistic daughter. I comforted her, and together we contacted her doctor’s office and learned that there was no actual diagnosis and the scheduled mastectomy surgery prescribed by her doctor was premature. I helped her schedule a new appointment with a different doctor, and I provided her with Susan G. Komen materials to help her understand her new circumstances.

Julie: The first survivor we lost after I joined Susan G. Komen was a woman named Kathy Voorhis. She was a beautiful person inside and out. My favorite memory was a photo shoot we did with her and a few other women for our Race for the Cure campaign that year. She was so hard on herself and her photos but that day, she was the most beautiful I had ever seen her. She radiated beauty through her smile, sense of humor and sincere kindness. She is dearly missed.

Kathy Voorhis

Jennifer (Mission Programs Specialist): One of my favorite encounters was with a breast cancer survivor who needed assistance with hairpieces, and the feeling of wholeness she experienced when we find a wig that suited her.

What are you looking forward to in the new office?

Lisa: The new office will have a very welcoming front room with a couch and chairs, wood floor and be very close to the Resource and Wig Room. It will be nice for talking privately with people needing breast cancer information or referrals. We also will have a big new training room next to an open warehouse area so I envision some great celebrations and look forward to do our Race for the Cure registration and packet pick up right from our own space.

Danielle: I am looking forward to the new office and the many ways we will be able to utilize our new training room and various multi use rooms with volunteers, supporters and survivors.

We could not close this post without thanking our generous friends at Tangram Interiors who designed our new space, provided new furniture and helped us move. Thanks to their incredible work, the new office already feels like home!

We Fight Back

Best Science. Boldest Community. Biggest Impact. Susan G. Komen for the Cure hopes to unite the community in the fight against breast cancer. Check out the video below and share with us how you’re fighting back!

Take a Swing at Breast Cancer

Coto's successful Rally for the Cure committee

Look out for the ladies who play tennis at the Coto de Caza Racquet Club! When they do something, they do it right. Lucky for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, they decided to do their first Rally for the Cure during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It was a very pink, fun and successful day of tennis and breast cancer awareness – and they raised $25,000 for Komen for the Cure.

Rally for the Cure is a grassroots campaign via tennis or golf events to spread the message that early detection of breast cancer saves lives.  The women who organized the first Rally at Coto de Caza could have been making a “how to” video as they went. They had a tennis Round Robin in the morning with many enthusiastic participants, they had the pink-est luncheon ever at the main clubhouse with balloons, favors and pink lemonade, they had a silent auction and raffle. Most importantly, they had women on the committee and in the tennis club who spoke from the heart about their breast cancer experiences. They had impact.

The Rally had the support of the tennis staff. Leading up to the Rally, they donated $500 to Komen with each new membership to the club. (They sold 31 new memberships this way.) The pros donated lessons for the raffle and encouragement all day.

If this sounds like fun, you too can organize a Rally for the Cure at your tennis or golf club and emphasize the importance of early detection. Check out the details at www.rallyforthecure.com.

A Toast to Reds, Whites & Greens!

 

Cindy Thomsen (Left) with Tamara Thompson, Komen OC's Director of Development

Breast cancer survivor Cindy Thomsen is a can-do, glass-is-half-full kind of gal. (And the glass is likely to contain a superb red wine.) Komen Orange County is blessed to count her as an advocate. Cindy’s Reds, Whites and Greens, Charity Golf Classic raised $162,000 for our affiliate on July 20 at Sea Cliff Country Club in Huntington Beach. And that donation is more powerful when put into perspective – the golf tournament has donated $887,000 total for the past seven years for breast cancer research and education. Komen OC is the sole beneficiary.

Cindy was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 at age 33 and four years later, in June 2002, the disease returned.  Having been a very young target for breast cancer, she feels fortunate to have successfully battled the disease twice and credits the improvements in both breast cancer education and diagnostics for her early detection and recovery.  To reinforce the importance of early detection, Cindy decided to combine her passion for wine and golf with her inaugural Reds, Whites and Greens Golf Classic.

The day of golf included “Around the World” wine tastings on the course and unique wine packages as part of the silent and live auctions during dinner. For more information, visit www.redswhitesgreens.com.

Rally for the Cure!

Komen OC is honored to benefit from Rally for the Cure^®. Rally for the Cure is a grassroots program designed to spread awareness about breast health and breast cancer through volunteered organized golf, tennis and social events.

Rally empowers people to support the mission of Susan G. Komen for the Cure by spreading awareness in their community through an activity they are passionate about.  Volunteer Ambassadors host and plan the events locally.  A registration fee of $20 per person enables participants to participate in a contest for a chance to win a grand prize.

Example contest include a closest-to-the-pin challenge for golf events and a round robin tournament for tennis events. In addition, each registered participant receives  event favors, important breast health information from Komen, as well as a one-year subscription to select Condé Nast magazines such as, Golf Digest, SELF, Bon Appétit and Condé Nast Traveler.  Click here to learn more about hosting an event at your club. Do it for your sister, your mother, your daughter, your friend … yourself.