Mifflin County women raise $50K for breast cancer causes
Longtime friends direct funds through annual fundraising walks
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LEWISTOWN – In 2015, Amy Morgan watched her friend Mary Pollock finish a breast cancer walk and made a promise. The next time, and every time after that, she would cross the finish line with her.
Pollock had survived breast cancer. Morgan had lost both her parents to other forms of the disease.
More than a decade later, they’re still walking. Their promise has become part of a fundraising effort supported by people throughout Mifflin County.
Since 2021, Morgan and Pollock, both of Mifflin County, have raised more than $50,000 through Pledge the Pink, a three-day, 30-mile breast cancer fundraising walk. More than $31,000 has been directed to the breast care center at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital. This year alone, they met their highest fundraising goal yet: $20,000.
Behind those figures are yard sales, donated household goods, sandwiches, candles and neighbors willing to contribute whatever they can.
For Pollock, it began with a phone call she never expected. In April 2012, she went in for what she thought would be a routine breast reduction. A few days later, she received a call telling her she had breast cancer. She remembers the news sending her emotions in every direction.
Her faith, family, and friends helped her through it.
“I walk because so many cannot,” Pollock said.
Morgan came to fundraising by another route. Her father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003. Her mother later developed renal cell cancer. Both died in 2006.
“You quickly learn there’s so much with any type of cancer that the person diagnosed with and the caregivers have no control over,” Morgan said.
Fundraising gave Morgan something she could do when so much else was beyond her control.
“Fundraising continued to be the connection, love, and support that got me through the grief,” Morgan said.
When Pollock signed up for a Susan G. Komen 60-mile walk in 2015, Morgan helped raise money. She met her at the finish line and promised that Pollock wouldn’t have to cross another one without her.
The two continued taking part in those walks until the COVID-19 pandemic canceled events in 2020. That winter, Pollock found Pledge the Pink online. Its fundraising arrangement appealed to them: Teams raising at least $5,000 can request that 75% of their fundraising go to a breast cancer charity approved by the foundation.
“We loved that we could determine who received our funding and that our efforts would directly impact our small community,” Morgan said.
They chose to support breast cancer care in Lewistown, close to the people who had helped them raise the money.
They call their team Breast Friends Forever, though their fundraising depends on far more than two people.
“We both joke we’re this little team of two in rural PA, but we’re blessed to have a village as our team,” Morgan said.
Their annual July yard sale has become their biggest moneymaker and, Morgan said, their most labor-intensive project. People now contact them early to ask when they can drop off items. Other fundraisers have involved doughnuts, subs, salads, candles, and restaurant sales. Local businesses contribute gift cards and raffle baskets. Family and friends donate online.
Some supporters are strangers. That still amazes Pollock.
“I think every year – we are never going to reach our goal – but we do!” she said.
Morgan is a nurse supervisor at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, while Pollock works at Geisinger Medical Clinic Reedsville. Their fundraising has helped purchase equipment and resources for breast cancer care in Lewistown.
According to Morgan, donations have helped acquire specialized mammography paddles intended to improve patient comfort and imaging, along with training mannequins used to teach breast biopsy procedures. Pollock said the funds also support mammograms and other patient resources.
Morgan says she stops to read the tribute signs along the route, studying names and photographs of people affected by breast cancer. She hears strangers tell stories about illness and caregiving. At the end, when survivors gather and people cheer, the tears come again.
Pollock remembers a woman at last year’s walk who was carried across the finish line in a wheelchair. Pollock didn’t know her. She later learned that the woman had died a few months afterward.
“I sobbed and sobbed,” Pollock said. “I didn’t know her, but to me she was a hero.”
This year’s walk, scheduled for Oct. 16-18 on Oak Island, North Carolina, will bring familiar faces. Pollock’s sisters, Patty and Bernie, travel from Florida to cheer them on. Morgan’s aunt Jeanne, will attend for the first time. The women also look forward to seeing friends they’ve made during previous walks.
Pollock is 14 years past her diagnosis. She knows there may come a time when she can’t walk or raise money anymore. For now, she intends to continue. Morgan, who remembers the deaths of her parents and remains grateful for her friend’s survival, feels the same.
“We don’t take the time we have for granted,” Morgan said.
Pollock sometimes tells Morgan that her back hurts or she’s getting too old. Morgan responds by bringing up their next fundraiser. It is an old routine between two women who have done plenty of miles and even more work together.
“I don’t walk as fast as her, but we always meet at the finish line each day to cross together.”