ROH receives almost $90,000 from Pink Caps By Jessica R. Lischka, ROH Volunteer

The New Year brought some new opportunities to the Ribbon of Hope Foundation with the distribution of the proceeds from the Packer Pink Cap campaign. Thanks to the sale of pink caps with an embroidered Packers logo, checks for almost $90,000 were presented to each of 12 breast cancer organizations January 1, 2006. The money is the largest single donation in ROH’s short history, a fact that does not escape ROH’s board members. “I believe the Packers and American Family were looking for non-profits that had a direct impact on those with breast cancer in various Wisconsin communities,” said ROH Vice President Meg Fay. “This kind of a windfall rarely happens to an established non-profit, much less a young non-profit like ROH. When I got the call that ROH was a recipient of a portion of the funds, I burned the phone lines calling the other board members to let them know the wonderful news.” Deanna Favre and 15 American Family Insurance breast cancer survivors announced the Pink Cap campaign and the partnership between the Packer Foundation and American Family Insurance at a press conference in July 2005. The Pink hats sold for $15 each, of which $5 went into a general fund for breast cancer charities. The Packer Pro Shop and American Family Insurance agent offices sold 210,000 pink hats, generating more than $1 million for charities in Milwaukee, Madison, Marshfield, La Crosse, Green Bay and De Pere. ROH was lucky enough to be among the selected recipients. “The Packer organization was aware of the work of ROH in the community already, and one of our volunteers, Karen Fitzgerald, spoke with a contact she had with the Packers, who then took our case to the Packer committee,” said Meg about how ROH was selected. ROH has received two grants from the Packer Foundation in the past, and that connection, along with Fitzgerald’s help, was vital to securing ROH’s place as a recipient charity. “The generosity of Deanna Favre to share her story and partner with the Packers and American Family Insurance has raised both money and awareness for breast cancer. They will both go a long way in ensuring individuals diagnosed with breast cancer will receive assistance from ROH well into the future,” Meg said. ROH will invest a percentage of the funds to make sure money is available for assistance in the future. “Of course, the best news would be that there is not a need for ROH because of a cure for breast cancer,” Meg added.