By Lauren Young
On Friday, Sept. 7, Minoa leaders painted a teal stripe on North Main Street, outside the village municipal building, to raise Ovarian Cancer Awareness ahead of the 10th annual Hope for Heather’s Teal Ribbon Run on Saturday, Sept. 22, in Lewis Park.
Village Mayor Bill Brazill, Village Trustee Eric Christensen, Hope for Heather founders Frieda and Gary Weeks, Board Member Jesse Irwin and sponsor Mike Crowley of Crowley Insurance all came together to take turns painting the teal stripe — the second time done so by the village.
SUNY Oswego Men’s Hockey Coach Ed Gosek was also in attendance, as Hope for Heather once again dedicates the Teal Ribbon Run to his late wife Mary Gosek. Mary passed away from the disease in June 2017, but not before changing the lives of others and doing everything she could to make women and men aware of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer.
“We paint the teal ribbon stripe in the middle of the road to honor the teal ribbon run, and also Mary Gosek,” said Mayor Bill Brazill. “She was a great lady, and we dedicate this to her every year.”
Brazill, Christensen, Weeks, Gosek and Irwin are all Men of Teal campaign members. Men of Teal is an annual awareness effort run by Hope for Heather that challenges men to start conversations about ovarian cancer awareness — an effort in its fifth year.
It has proved to be so successful that Man of Teal Scott Lombardo helped launch #100DaysOfTeal in which he challenges 100 men to pass along symptom cards to 100 women; the goal being to reach 10,000 women in the hopes of saving at least one life.
The race has grown over the years, thanks to the dedication of survivors, their families, supporters and women’s health advocates. This year, over 1,000 runners and walkers have registered to participate in the race.
Six months after the death of her daughter Heather, Frieda and Gary Weeks honored her by founding Hope for Heather in 2009.
“She was an advocate for the cause,” said Weeks. “We were very devastated and didn’t know what to do. We wanted to somehow make a difference, so we decided to become incorporated.”
Weeks said they had “no idea” how much of a difference they would later make.
Initially, the Weeks were hoping to raise about $2,000 with their foundation — since its inception, they have raised over $300,000.
“It’s a journey we never planned on being in,” she said. “But we’re honored to be in this journey with all these people.”
To learn more about Hope for Heather, visit HopeforHeather.org or TealRibbonRun.org.
