Tanger Outlets hosted the 19th annual North Fork Breast Health Coalition 5K walk yesterday around the outlet center.
Two hundred people turned out for the fundraising walk, which raised about $18,000 for the organization, said event co-chairperson Susie Bandiera.
The coalition supports breast cancer research, works to educate women about the importance of self-breast exams and annual mammograms and provides direct support and services to breast cancer patients and survivors on the North Fork. These include yoga, reflexology, massage therapy and a semi-monthly support group.
The 5K walk, held every year on the last Sunday in September, kicks off breast cancer awareness month, which is marked by a number of fundraising and educational activities across the North Fork.
Tanger Outlets holds an annual PinkStyle campaign at its malls across the country, which has raised millions for breast cancer research and support over the past 23 years. Shoppers can purchase $10 “pink cards” entitling them to 25-percent discounts at dozens of participating Tanger retailers in Riverhead. Tanger’s pink campaign runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 31.
Apple Honda in Riverhead holds a breast cancer awareness campaign every October, decorating its showroom in pink and donating money to the North Fork Breast Health Coalition for every new car sold and every service job during the month. Apple Honda has raised nearly more than $27,000 for he organization during this October campaign over the past four years.
One in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, according to BreastCancer.org. In 2017, an estimated 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 63,410 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000. About 40,610 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2017 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1989, according to the organization.
Tanger Outlets general manager Janine Nebons said the company is proud to support the effort to raise money for the North Fork Breast Health Coalition, which provides valuable services to local women coping with a breast cancer diagnosis.
Riverhead Town Councilman James Wooten attended the walk and offered an invocation The Mattituck High School NJROTC Color Guard presented the colors prior to the walk stepping off yesterday morning around 9:15 a.m.
SoutholdLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti
