OctoberBreast Music Fest, Karaoke Contest a huge success
The eighth annual OctoberBreast was held at Miceli’s Restaurant in Matlacha Sunday afternoon, Oct. 25, from noon to 6 p.m.
“We had a great turnout and had almost $10,000 in donations,” Mary Scott said. “Proceeds from the day included 25 percent of Miceli’s Restaurant profits amounting to approximately $3,800. Lonnie E. Cook donated a guitar that was custom painted with pink ribbons, the From Our hearts logo and the OctoberBreast logo. The guitar was auctioned off bringing in another $1,100.
“I’m very excited to announce that the karaoke raised between $4,500 and $5,000 and we sold about $500 in merchandise,” Scott said. “The total for the day was close to $10,000. I want to thank everyone involved for their hard work and commitment to making this a truly successful day.”
OctoberBreast is held in conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is a collaboration of national public service organizations, professional medical associations and government agencies working together to promote breast cancer awareness, share information on the disease and provide greater access to services.
The day began at noon with the arrival of the “Pink Heals” fire truck to Miceli’s parking lot. Pink Heals mission statement is “To provide Visionary Leaders and Local Businesses with a program that maintains fundraising dollars locally in support of women and their families!”
The Pink Heals organization was started in 2007 to help people battling cancer with a focus on women. Since that time the program has evolved to be the driving force of change in fund raising.
Local talent Strange Arrangement opened the music portion of the event at 2 p.m. The two brothers Warren and Greg Van Kirk never fail to entertain with their eclectic sound, original songs and energized concerts.
“From Our Hearts is a small organization with a big heart,” Scott said. “It is dedicated to help in the fight to find a cure for the debilitating disease of breast cancer and help those that for one reason or another need a helping hand,” Scott said.
“Students of Pine Island Elementary School entered their art in the calendar contest several months ago,” Scott said. “From those entries 13 winners were selected – one for the cover and one for each calendar month. We kick off our calendar sales today.”
Calendars are still available. Contact Scott at 239-898-7969.
“They are great holiday, birthday or anniversary gifts and they help us in the fight against breast cancer,” she said.
From Our Hearts Inc. consists of a small group of Pine Island residents whose only focus is to raise funds to provide breast cancer screening and treatment for any Pine Island resident who is in need of financial assistance. One hundred percent of the funds we raise are donated to Partners for Breast Cancer Care and Regional Cancer Center/Lee Memorial Health System to be used only for residents of the Greater Pine Island area. These two organizations facilitate the qualification process and distribution of From Our Hearts funds to provide screening and treatment for Pine Island residents.
The group always welcome new volunteers to the organization. It meets the third Tuesday of each month, at 6:30 p.m., in the Pine Island Fire House at the Island Center. Please join us!
Contact From Our Hearts Inc. at P.O. Box 356, Matlacha, FL 33993; e-mail wecare@fromourheart.org or call 239-233-7437.