Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser: Exceeding Expectations
Ellen Faber was well known not only for her amazing baking skills, but also for how she helped others with her talent. You could always count on her to make a cake for anyone's birthday, or even bring in treats on a normal work day. Every year without fail, you could find her at the New Hope Christmas party with her homemade cupcakes for all the families who relied on the food pantry. Her contribution was greatly appreciated as well as delicious, and the best part was that she enjoyed doing it too.
After Ellen’s death in 2014, her baked goods and kind heart were missed more than ever by everyone who knew her. Ellen passed away after over a year and a half of battling breast cancer, a disease impacting more than 2 million women each year. Her fight and caring spirit is what inspired Eastern Christian senior, Gabriella Angelucci, to create a fundraiser in her honor.
Each year The Eastern Christian girls soccer team wears pink socks and shirts to support Breast Cancer Awareness month, however, Angelucci saw potential for more. She talked to friends, family members, and shirt companies about creating shirts that could be sold not only to spread awareness, but also to give money to the Breast Cancer program at Valley Hospital. With the help of GEM sports, Angelucci was able to create 4 different types of shirts, one for each fall sport, coming in either pink or black. The shirts sold for $20 each, and Angelucci was hoping to raise at least $500 in the short 4 day period that the fundraiser was going to run.
After working tirelessly to send out the website link to buy the shirts, posting on social media, sending to friends and family, and preaching about it during school, the fundraiser spread farther than imagined. At the end of it, Angelucci’s goal of $500 was multiplied, as she was able to raise close to $2,500. The impact of the amount of shirts sold hit Angelucci in school that Friday with the pink out day, as the Eastern Christian High School halls were filled with almost every student in her shirts.
Angelucci and many others were able to see the Eastern Christian community come together that Homecoming weekend, united in pink, showing that we are, as it says on the back of the shirts, “stronger together.”Valley Hospital greatly accepted the donation at the girls soccer game that Friday night, honoring Ellen Faber, and many others who were impacted by the effects of a Breast Cancer diagnosis. Angelucci was happy to make a difference this year, and says that she hopes the fundraiser continues after she goes to college next year. She says “I feel that my aunt would be proud of me for this, and would love to know that everyone was able to come together and support”.
