JACKSON — Every October, people across the United States join together to raise money and awareness during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Men, women and children participate in a variety of activities — from raffles to community walks — to raise money that goes to help finding a cure for a disease that is a leading cause of death of women in the United States.
On Oct. 8, friends, family members and residents of Jackson’s Westlake Golf and Country Club gathered under a blue autumn sky for the ninth annual Walk for the Cure, hosted by the Westlake Women’s Club.
“The major thrust of the women’s club is to really help improve and add to the community we are so much a part of – Jackson,” said Lorraine Clement, who is a member of the Westlake Women’s Club’s Susan G. Komen for the Cure Committee.
The women’s club is “an autonomous nonprofit group whose purpose is to promote service to the Westlake community in a social atmosphere and encourage activities that unite the community,” Clement said. “We have a dedicated group of women [working] on a volunteer basis who dedicate themselves to this.”
The club has also offered its support to programs that seek to aid individuals who have multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy, as well as to the Jackson Food Pantry and the Wounded Warriors program.
In terms of breast cancer fundraising alone, Clement said the group has raised an estimated $500,000 over the last nine years, which makes the Westlake Women’s Club one of the more prominent sponsors of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey network.
“Everybody in the community knows about [the walk]. It is the major fundraiser for the women’s club for the year,” Clement said.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 227,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year. Approximately 40,000 women in the United States are expected to succumb to the disease in 2012.
Only lung cancer causes more deaths among American women.
This year, almost 2,200 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer and about 400 of those individuals will die from the disease.
The Oct. 8 walk took place in the Westlake community and participants walked along a 1-mile path that circles the adult community’s clubhouse.
“Some people [went around] once, others did it four times,” Clement said. “[The walk] takes as long as someone needs to complete it.”
On Oct. 16 the women’s club released its estimated total of money earned through this year’s walk, putting the tally at more than $30,000.
In previous years, Clement said, the group was able to raise more than $60,000 in a year. She said the decline in the economy is a primary reason why donations have decreased over the years.
Although the main focus of the event is the walk, Clement said the women’s club also hosts an event and dinner the night before. A breakfast is held on the morning of the walk.
“This year we put on a murder mystery dinner the night before the walk,” she said, noting that more than 30 tables at the dinner were sponsored by local business operators. Some vendors donated time, food and other items.
“We are very, very appreciative of the business and professional community and the individuals who are so generous in their donations and gifts that enable us to make this kind of [event] happen,” Clement said.
— Andrew Martins