|
Great Adventure To Host Walk To Fight Breast Cancer
By Keith Hagarty
JACKSON - Looking for a bigger and better venue to celebrate the golden anniversary of their fight against breast cancer, Susan G. Komen For The Cure announced that their annual statewide walk will now be held close to home in Jackson Township.
"Today we launch our new name, 'Susan G. Komen for the Cure,' and our new logo,"said Nancy Healey, executive director of Susan D. Komen For The Cure. "But more importantly for New Jersey, we are thrilled to announce we are moving the Race for the Cure to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson where it will take place on Sunday, October 14."
The non-profit organization's annual walk has traditionally been held in the Princeton area with smaller walks also being held for the past three years in Jackson. However, to celebrate the 25th year of the foundation, they wanted a venue for the autumn event that could handle the rise in participants. As the race grew in numbers, reaching 14,000 participants in 2006 and more than 30 corporate sponsors, organizers explored sites within the service area from Middlesex to Cape May counties, before agreeing that Great Adventure would be ideal.
"Great Adventure, centrally located within the 13-county service area and easily accessible from I-195, seemed like the logical choice," said Healey. "Great Adventure is a well known destination, easily accessible and the perfect location to manage the logistics of the Race for the Cure as it continues to attract growing numbers of participants."
The amusement park is eager to host this year's event and do what they can to help out.
"We are pleased to welcome the New Jersey Race for the Cure," said Mark Kane, President of Six Flags Great Adventure. "Six Flags Great Adventure and Wild Safari- America's largest regional theme park and largest drivethru Safari outside of Africa- is honored to host the foremost event seeking a cure for breast cancer in the state."
Jackson has always held a special place in the collective heart of Susan G. Komen For The Cure.
"We embrace our new home with enthusiasm because the Women's Club of Westlake- another Jackson Township landmark- has paved the path for us with their continued generous support of the cure," said Healey. "They welcome us to Jackson just as Great Adventure has. We are thrilled with our new location and anticipate our constituents will continue their support of the Race for the Cure at our new venue with typical enthusiasm and dedication. How can we not be pleased to know that breast cancer, a disease that touches all of us, will still be attacked with vigor and commitment next October in Jackson."
As the largest 5K in New Jersey, the Race For The Cure as been held at the corporate campus of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in Lawrenceville since 1999. Being a member of the Women's Club at Westlake has allowed Barbara Kaufman to clearly see how far the race has come in such a short period of time.
"They were doing it every year in Princeton, and we of course were doing it here, starting very locally here in Westlake, and then we branched out and got the community involved last year, and how a glorious day. It was wonderful," said Kaufman.
Local Women Got Involved
As a prominent New Jersey supporter of the cause, the Women's Club At Westlake raised nearly $60,000 last year as they worked with the township to have the venue moved from the gated, retirement community of Westlake over to Johnson Memorial Park.
"We're very lucky," said Kaufman. "We've had corporate sponsors and the people here do a wonderful job getting corporations and businesses involved, and we'll reach out again this year asking them for support and sponsorship on many different levels."
Breast cancer is a disease which has affected the lives of so many families in every town, and Kaufman and her group are proud to do what they can to hopefully one day find a cure.
"It still amazes me at how successful we've been, and how we've gotten the community involved, and the lives we've touched, and the people that have come forward to tell us about the people in their lives they've lost because of the disease, or the people that have been saved," she said. "Everybody has in their family, a mother, or sister, or daughter, so it touches everybody's lives, and this is such a wonderful organization that has done so much in terms of whatever money that's raised is used."
"It's so exciting," said Kaufman, noting the specific details as to autumn event's schedule are still in progress, but promises fun for the whole family.
Having the annual walk at one of the most popular amusement parks in the country can only be a major plus for the cause, according to Kaufman.
"We hope now even more people will know about it, and hopefully even more people will be able to attend," she said. "It's a very convenient location."
| 
