News & Updates
Virginia Piper Cancer CenterSome of the staff at Mercy/Unity Hospitals gave us a tour of the new Virginia Piper Cancer Center.
Hometown HeroLynnda was invited to be the designated Hometown Hero at the October 9th Vikings vs. Cardinals game.
Andover & Coon Rapids Parades Looks like the gang was all there!
Thanks to everyone who helped out and especially to our sponsor Lepage & Sons for making this day happen!
Garbage Turns ‘Pretty in Pink’ in Fight Against Breast CancerMark Christofferson races full speed ahead, determined to increase breast cancer awareness and raise funds for those fighting for their lives – and for their livelihoods.
Mark Christofferson, Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride coordinator and Pink Cart proponent, poses outside his Andover home with a pair of LePage & Sons carts, one the standard red cart, the other the breast cancer awareness pink cart.
In addition to the annual Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, Christofferson’s campaign to end breast cancer patients’ financial angst has taken on a pink hue as well.
That’s because earlier this month, Christofferson started promoting The Pink Cart Campaign.
The Pink Cart
Christofferson’s Pink Cart campaign invites customers of LePage & Sons garbage haulers to swap out their red LePage garbage cans for pink ones, complete with a breast cancer awareness ribbon painted on its side.
Pink Carts come at a donated cost of $30 for one year.
“We heard about the Pink Cart and thought that would be perfect,” Christofferson said.
And since LePage & Sons already serves customers in Andover, Anoka, Coon Rapids, Ramsey, Oak Grove and Fridley it seemed a perfect fit.
The Pink Cart money collected by LePage & Sons is donated to the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer campaign, Christofferson said.
That money is used by the Mercy and Unity Hospitals Foundation and the Regions Hospital Foundation (where Laubach underwent her treatment).
A portion of that foundation money is used, Christofferson said, to help breast cancer patients pay for food, utilities, housing and other basic needs.
“There’s a demand for assistance,” Christofferson said. “Without help of some kind, some patients would have to choose between treatment and the mortgage. That’s nuts. I’m just happy there’s something we can do to help.”
The Pink Cart endeavor can help ensure a year-round revenue stream for the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer campaign.
“The Pink Cart has put around 20,000 carts on neighborhood streets across the United States, which has generated $100,000 for the American Cancer Society,” said LePage & Sons Sales Manager Jake Brozek.
“Breast cancer has affected many members in our community and it is rewarding to be able to give back to breast cancer patients, right here in the north metro by finding a great campaign like the Lynnda Laubach campaign.”
To learn more about The Pink Cart campaign, visit www.ThePinkCart.com or call Brozek at 763-757-7100.
Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride
Now about the motorcycle ride: For the past six years, Christofferson has staged the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride.
The ride is a 100-mile long ride benefiting the Mercy and Unity Hospitals Foundation and the Regions Hospital Foundation, and named in honor of Christofferson’s sister, Laubach, a breast cancer survivor.
Laubach fought the breast cancer battle back in 2005. Tales she told her brother of the sisterhood of breast cancer patients, their struggles to pay hospital bills, cover care costs, keep food on the table and a roof overhead drove him to start the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride.
The ride first hit the road during the fall of 2005. This year, the ride takes place Sept. 24 and starts at Zylstra Harley-Davidson in Elk River. The post-ride party takes place at Rockwoods in Otsego.
So far, the century motorcycle ride has raised more than $250,000 – money that goes to the Mercy and Unity Hospitals Foundation as well as Regions Hospital Foundation.
In fact, just this past March 13, Christofferson and fellow Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride organizers presented a $13,000 check to the Breast Health Center of Regions Hospital.
To learn more about the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, to register for the Sept. 24 ride, or to make a donation, visit www.TheBreastCancerRide.org. 3-19-2011 Star NewsOn February 15, 2011 representatives from TheBreastCancerRide.org presented a $13,000 check to Regions Hospital. Read the article
Check out this story, breast cancer affects men too!
LLBCAR Gets Some Press from ABC Newspapers
| Breast cancer survivor rides to help others |
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| Wednesday, 07 October 2009 |
by Sue Austreng
Staff writer
Lynnda Laubach strapped on her helmet and straddled the Harley for a 100-mile ride Sept. 26.
The event was the fifth-annual Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, established shortly after Laubach was diagnosed with infiltrating ductal carcinoma.
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Breast cancer survivor Lynnda Laubach rides with husband, Steve Laubach, in the 2009 Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride Sept. 26. (Photo courtesy of Mark Christofferson)
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She fought the cancer with a rigorous treatment regimen, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
And then she was determined to fight for other cancer victims, as well and so the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride was born.
This year, 259 cyclists rode along with 109 passengers for the ride.
By ride’s end, more than $50,000 had been raised.
The 2009 ride had cyclists starting at Zylstra Harley-Davidson in Elk River, then stopping at Captain’s on Long Lake in Isanti and Bailey Ray’s in Santiago before crossing the finish line and enjoying a pasta party at Rockwoods Grill and Backwater Bar in Otsego.
The Breast Cancer Awareness Ride operates fueled by this mission statement, “Bikers riding together with the goal of helping breast cancer patients and survivors improve their quality of life today and into the future.”
The Lynnda Laubach ride did just that, selling tickets for 80 different baskets packed with donated items, staging a live auction, and then drawing the winning ticket for the 2009 Harley-Davidson Fat Bob motorcycle.
All told, 6,506 $5 raffle tickets were sold for a chance at winning the Fat Bob.
Money collected during the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride will be disbursed to the breast cancer centers at Regions, Mercy and Unity hospitals.
For information about the Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, visit www.thebreastcancerride.org .
Sue Austreng is at sue.austreng@ecm-inc.com. |
Direct Link to the original story on ABC Newspapers website: http://abcnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9270&Itemid=27 Kim Michels' Pix 9/26/09Cindy Rosen's Pix 9/26/09Dan Dawson's Pix 9/26/09Sandy Herrala's Pix 9/26/09 |
