Photo Credit: Brittney Lyn Photography
CHARLOTTE, NC (News Release) – The Primax Pink Warriors fundraising team has earned the American Cancer Society’s inaugural Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Hero of Research Award in recognition of their support for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in 2021.
The Hero of Research Award offers Making Strides teams who raise at least $175,500 during the Strides season an opportunity to name an existing post-doctoral fellowship research grant in honor of a loved one or their team. The Primax Pink Warriors raised $178,040 in 2021 for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Greater Charlotte, becoming the first team in the nation to earn this honor.
Behind every Strides event are many talented, determined, and extraordinary individuals who go above and beyond to support the American Cancer Society’s mission. They lend their time, talents, and generosity to the Strides movement.
“I am beyond thrilled for the Primax Pink Warriors to achieve this amazing milestone in their fundraising efforts,” said Megan Nelson, who served as the executive director for the American Cancer Society in Western North Carolina and South Carolina. “The love and care this team brings to the breast cancer community is unlike anything I have seen before. They are a passionate group dedicated to not only raising the needed funds to make advancements in research, but to lifting up those facing a cancer diagnosis.”
The Primax Pink Warriors selected a research project being conducted by Kirk L. West, PhD, from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and named the grant Primax Pink Warriors Fund The Future Legacy Grant. DNA is organized around proteins to form chromatin, which is damaged every second and must be repaired to maintain the correct blueprint. If damage is not repaired, Dr. West explained, the blueprint can be misread and the cell can become cancerous. This three-year grant named by the Primax Pink Warriors aims to define the role of the protein LC8 and the tousled-like kinases in the DNA repair pathway to give cancer patients the best possible outcome.
“When we started fundraising for Making Strides 14 years ago, I remember our big goal was to hit $20,000,” said team captain Laura Renegar. “Then it was $50,000. Then we wanted to reach the goal of being the biggest team in the Southeast Region. Then it was reaching $100,000…..if we could just reach a hundred thousand dollars I knew my heart would be satisfied. Then the possibility of being the top fundraising team in the country became feasible. I knew if we ever hit that fundraising milestone, my heart would be satisfied. We hit all of those goals and then I heard about having a research grant named after our team. The goal was super high – but in my heart, I knew that if that was a goal we were meant to achieve, we absolutely would! And we did.”
The Primax Pink Warriors have now led all Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraising teams in the nation for two straight years.
“There is just something special about the passion the Primax Pink Warriors have for Making Strides and the American Cancer Society,” Renegar added. “It’s hard to describe, but once you attend one of our walks, you will understand what I am talking about. Being the first Making Strides team to name a Hero of Research Award has definitely satisfied my heart. I am so proud of every walker, donor, fundraiser, sponsor, golfer, teammate and survivor that has brought us to this point. This is for my mom. This is for our team. This is for all of the girls we have lost along the way. This is for the girls that have yet to be diagnosed. Since I have the BRCA 2 gene mutation, it’s also for my family.”
Without the American Cancer Society’s nearly 75 years of investments in research, patients wouldn’t have as many treatment strategies, screening tools and preventative measures. As the largest private not-for-profit, non-governmental funder of cancer research in the US, we’ve played a role in many of the major cancer research breakthroughs in the last century.
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is a movement, from large-scale traditional walks to unique local experiences and celebrations, the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer has united communities, companies, and individuals across the country in the fight to end breast cancer for more than two decades – and we have no intention of ever slowing down.
Join the Making Strides movement to help save lives and fund the future of breast cancer research and programs.
