Janet Rosenthal and Amy Aqua, co-founders of thinkPINKkids South Florida, recently presented Scripps Florida with a check for $15,000 to go toward cancer research.
ThinkPINKkids South Florida began at Wellington High School and has since expanded to 17 schools throughout Palm Beach County.
The organization has raised and donated more than $60,000 to the Cancer Biology Department at Scripps Florida and $22,000 to Your Bosom Buddies II, a local cancer support group.
The money was raised through corporate sponsors and various fundraising activities, such as merchandise sales, thinkPINK Day in elementary schools, a dodge-ball tournament for middle and high schools and the popular Dance Night for the Fight against Breast Cancer.
The founders of the organization are proud of all of the local students, parent volunteers and school faculty members who have worked hard to raise money and spread the word about breast cancer awareness and research.
The organization continues to expand each year, providing breast cancer education and awareness among youth and adults; earning, raising and donating money for breast cancer research; and partnering with community groups.
“It is an honor and a privilege for Scripps researchers to be the benefactors of the remarkable fundraising efforts of so many students, teachers and volunteers, who are making a real difference in our campaigns to develop new drugs that can prevent and eradicate breast cancer,” said Dr. John Cleveland, chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology at Scripps Florida.
The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world’s largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. The institute employs about 3,000 people on its campuses in La Jolla, Calif., and Jupiter, Fla. For more information, visit www.scripps.edu.
To learn more about starting a thinkPINKkids group at a school in South Florida, e-mail tpkwellington@comcast.net.
ABOVE: Members of thinkPINKkids with Scripps Florida officials.
