Organizers of the 2018 Pink Ribbon Golf Classic are hoping to reach a fundraising goal of $300,000 to help both Mayo Clinic-Jacksonville and Baptist Medical Center Beaches in their effort to research and treat breast cancer.
The Women's Golf Tournament will kick off the action on Thursday, Oct. 4 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. Jacksonville’s only all-women charity golf tournament will involve 160 lady golfers, plus dozens of local sponsors, donors and volunteers.
A cocktail party will take place one week later on Thursday, Oct. 11 at a home in Marsh Landing from 6 to 9 p.m. The party features a silent auction including over 20 works of original art donated by prominent local artists. Tickets are $100 per person and quantities are limited. Then, a Flag Day is set for Friday, Oct. 19, and the David Yurman Trunk Show at Underwood Jewelers in Ponte Vedra Beach will take place Nov. 8-10, with a portion of all sales to be donated to Pink Ribbon. A cocktail party and check presentation will take place on the first night of the trunk show on Nov. 8 at Underwood’s.
"All the money stays locally and there is absolutely no paid staff involved," said Sara Strom, a Pink Ribbon volunteer who leads the organization’s publicity efforts. "We are a 501c3 under the umbrella of Baptist Health Foundation."
Strom said one of the nonprofit's major goals for 2018 is to help purchase a PET/CT scanner — which provides an advanced nuclear imaging technique — for the Wilson Cancer Center at Baptist Medical Center Beaches.
"At the moment PET scans are only offered one day per week in a mobile unit and the experts have told us that these scans are very useful for evaluating how patients are responding, how their tumors are responding to chemotherapy," she said. "When people have advanced cases, this helps them determine quickly whether the course of action they're pursuing is helpful. It helps them with assessment during the treatment."
Strom noted that Pink Ribbon organizers visit Baptist Medical Center Beaches and Mayo Clinic to assess their needs, and the medical facilities respond with proposals.
"Mayo has a Jacoby Center for Breast Health and they are trying to fund innovative therapies," she said, "new treatment options for women who are undergoing chemotherapy or other cancer treatments — and there is research involved."
Mayo Clinic doctors are learning how to minimize hair loss for women who are undergoing chemotherapy, Strom added.
"They're looking at lymphedema studies," she said. "Lymphedema is an unfortunate side effect. If lymph nodes are removed from under the arm there is a very high risk of developing lymphedema, which is a very painful swelling of the arm and it causes a great deal of discomfort.”
Strom asserted that funds raised from Pink Ribbon events will go a long way to help support breast cancer research and treatment options.
Regarding Pink Ribbon's co-chairs, Joanne Ghiloni and Nancy Morrison, Strom said they have given a great deal of their energy to establish the nonprofit.
"They've worked very hard and also personally give very generously," she said. "They have family stories that make this a very special, important and meaningful project for them —and that's true of a lot of these ladies. When it's someone very close it gives it extra meaning."
For more information on Pink Ribbon events, including how to register or donate, visit the organization's website at www.pinkribbonjax.org.
