Page 18 - December Banner 2018_Neat

Page 18 December 2018
Thurmont Donates $62,000 to Hur witz Fund Over Five Years
James Rada, Jr.
October has become a month
when the residents and businesses in
Thurmont go all-out to fight breast
cancer. This year was no different,
with Thurmont raising $18,000
for its 5 Annual Gateway to the
th
Cure. With this year’s donation to
the Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund,
Thurmont has raised $62,000 over
five years.
With the Thurmont Mayor and
Commissioners wearing their pink
T-shirts, they held a meeting to
present the town’s annual donation
to the Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund.
Thurmont Main Street Manager
Vickie Grinder reminded the
commissioners and mayor that when
the town began its efforts in 2014,
they were hoping to be able to sell a
case (122) of pink light bulbs.
“Jim Humerick and I were afraid
we wouldn’t sell them all,” Grinder
said. “We sold 1,348 that year and
had two dozen businesses on board
with us.”
Jeff and Patty Hurwitz created
The Hurwitz Breast Cancer Fund
at Frederick Memorial Hospital in
1999. Patty had been diagnosed
with breast cancer, and the couple
believed that early diagnosis had
The Catoctin Banner Newspaper www.TheCatoctinBanner.com
Photo by Gracie Eyler
Thurmont raises $18,000 for its 5 Annual Gateway to the Cure and presents check to Patty Hurwitz
th
Breast Cancer Fund at FMH.
helped improve her chances of During October, the Town
beating cancer. The fund is used to of Thurmont sold pink light
help improve ways of diagnosing bulbs, sold Gateway to the Cure
and fighting cancer in the county. merchandise, sponsored “Paint a
The fund has raised $1.7 million Lighted Wine Bottle” afternoon,
to date. That money has gone to held a Zumbathon at the American
purchase things, such as a machine Legion, held a 5K race, and planted
for biopsies and another for 3D a pinwheel garden in honor of loved
mammography. Every dollar ones and survivors of all types of
donated to the fund is used for cancer.
direct patient benefit, and there are Nearly fifty businesses and
no administrative costs. groups also participated in the
Gateway to the Cure by holding
their own fundraisers to contribute
to the town’s donation.
Catoctin High Football Team and
Cheer Squad sold pink T-shirts to be
worn during the pink-out games.
Thurmont Historical Society
donated a portion of its new
member and returning member
membership fees.
Gateway Orthodontics donated
money for each set of braces
Published by www.EPlusPromotes.com
patients purchased and sold pink
mouthguards.
Timeless Trends held a night of
pampering for people with local
wine, food, and services.
Roy Rogers donated a portion of
the strawberry shortcake sales for
the month.
Simply Asia donated a portion of
its customers’ checks.
Woodsboro Bank held Pink
Fridays where employees could
pay to wear pink on Friday, sold
merchandise, and paid for each
Facebook like their page received.
Criswell Chevrolet donated
a portion of the cost of each oil
change performed in October.
The thing that many of these
participating businesses had
in common is that they had
employees, members, family, or
friends who had been diagnosed
with breast cancer. Some had
fought it and won. Others had died
from the disease. These businesses
and groups wanted to help find a
cure or at least more-effective ways
to treat breast cancer.
The $18,000 donation is not
only Thurmont’s largest donation
to date, but it is also 20 percent
more than was donated in 2017.
“This town is just amazing,
and you should be commended
for that,” Jeff Hurwitz told the
commissioners.
Thurmont’s involvement in the
Gateway to the Cure started in
2014 with Commissioner Wayne
Hooper, whose wife Jill is a breast
cancer survivor. Since that time,
Grinder has been coordinating the
town’s efforts to help find a cure.