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Health & Fitness

Locals helping locals: Think Pink for the Cancer Concern Center

The Cancer Concern Center is a grassroots non-profit in Point Pleasant Beach that has been assisting local cancer survivors for more than 15 years.

Unlike larger organizations, the Cancer Concern Center is completely focused on supporting women and men with cancer who live in the Point Pleasant area. The center offers support groups, journaling, meditation, nutritional counseling, yoga classes, new wigs, and day-to-day emotional assistance at a small location in Point Pleasant Beach.

The Cancer Concern Center isn’t affiliated with any national non-profits. Sadly, in recent months, many cancer organizations have had terrible publicity because of the millions of dollars wasted on executive salaries and “robo-calls” for donations.

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But the Cancer Concern Center is entirely different. Local volunteers and donations enable the center to keep its doors open. The Cancer Concern Center's operational budget is just $60,000 for the entire year. But for a small non-profit, $60,000 can be tough to raise – especially in a community still reeling from Superstorm Sandy.

As terrible as the economy has been for local fundraising, nothing has impacted the Cancer Concern Center as severely as Sandy. Many of the center's cancer patients and volunteers lost their homes to Sandy. Their lives were devastated by the storm, but at the same time, they’re trying to deal with cancer or find time to continue volunteering with the center.

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Organizationally, the Cancer Concern Center was dealt several financial blows after Sandy. Last October, the center had been working with local businesses to launch a new fundraising campaign, Think Pink. After the storm, many small businesses weren’t in the position to donate money to the Cancer Concern Center, and the center certainly wasn't going to bug them! Then, in November, the dinner dance venue canceled the fall fundraiser that the center had been planning, resulting in a loss of more than $20,000.

Thankfully, the Cancer Concern Center was not damaged structurally. It was able to remain open this year through $7,500 raised at the New Jersey Marathon and $5,000 from a Summer Kick-Off fundraiser planned by musician Mark Burg at The Wharfside Patio Bar. But this means the Cancer Concern Center has a long way to go to raise $60,000 for 2013.

The Cancer Concern Center is hopeful that local businesses in the Point Pleasant area will consider hosting a Think Pink fundraiser for the center in October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

October is the time of year when pink takes prominence, but it’s often unclear where the charitable donations go. With Think Pink, local businesses have the flexibility to plan whatever type of pink fundraiser they'd like, and the Cancer Concern Center will promote them wholeheartedly.

The Cancer Concern Center is incredibly grateful to the local businesses – such as The Beanery and The Coal House – that have hosted Think Pink fundraisers in the past. Every dollar donated to the Cancer Concern Center remains in Point Pleasant Beach for local cancer support.

Businesses interested in joining the Think Pink movement and organizing a fall fundraiser may contact Lisa Montalbano at the Cancer Concern Center: 732-701-0250 or lbano@comcast.net

Please visit the Cancer Concern Center’s Facebook page for program updates.

Thanks very much for keeping your pink dollars in our local community!

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