Category Archives: Uncategorized
2010 in review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,100 times in 2010. That’s about 15 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 13 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 121 posts. There were 30 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 19mb. That’s about 3 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was September 7th with 227 views. The most popular post that day was Loving the Susan G. Komen 3-Day.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, loriments.blogspot.com, mail.yahoo.com, twitter.com, and facingourrisk.org.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for lori buckfire, breast cancer shirts, mammogram, elizabeth schiff barash, and ellyn davidson.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Loving the Susan G. Komen 3-Day September 2010
4 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,
In loving memory of Lori Buckfire July 2010
5 comments
Ta Ta Breast Cancer shirts for sale! March 2009
5 comments
Another great Breast Cancer 3-Day fundraiser June 2009
6 comments
Ta Ta Breast Cancer in action April 2010
2 comments
Brogan shines pink for Breast Cancer Awareness
Yesterday marked day one of my 4th breast cancer awareness month as a breast cancer survivor. There’s a pink cast to the world, facebook profile pictures turn to pink ribbons and businesses everywhere are stepping up their support of breast cancer.
Brogan & Partners, my long time employer, has supported my journey every step of the way–participating in fundraisers, walking with me, creating my award winning Ta Ta Breast Cancer logo and just being there for me. I am honored and thrilled everyday to work for this company–the place I’ve called my home away from home for nearly 17 years.
But Marcie Brogan, once again, you’ve outdone yourself. For the next month, our building in downtown Birmingham will shine pink to honor survivors and remember those who’ve lost their life to this disease. If you’re in the area at night, drive by the historic peabody mansion and see for yourself. And thanks dad for capturing this great photo. Yes, I’m one lucky survivor.
One more little request
With Representative Wasserman Schultz
This is my second post in one week. Pretty certain you’re reading this and running in the other direction wondering what I want you to do now. I know, every time I post, I’m asking for you to do something but this one is really important (OK they are all really important). But this one is really really important and can seriously impact lives. Representative Deborah Wasserman Schultz introduced #HR1522 legislation into Congress which will establish Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer awareness week and make Wednesday of that week National Previvor Day. We need 100 co-sponsors in the house by August 2 and right now we have 20.
Please take action quickly for my good friend Sue Friedman–who left a career as a vet to start FORCE over a decade ago. Take action for so many of my friends who’ve learned they have a BRCA mutation and have taken preventative measures before they’ve gotten a cancer diagnosis. Take action for way too many women who are battling metastatic disease because they found their cancer too late or had a recurrence. Take action for all the young women diagnosed with cancer because BRCA strikes younger women and is much more aggressive. Take action for the young girls in our lives who need to know about hereditary cancer so they can live long, healthy cancer-free lives. Take action now because August 2nd is quickly approaching.
Vote for FORCE in the Chase Community Giving Challenge
If you regularly read my blog, you know that I am very passionate about a lot of organizations, but there are two in particular that are nearest and dearest to my heart. One is Susan G. Komen–the organization dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer.
The other organization is quite a bit smaller and in the shadow of the biggies but no less important. It’s called FORCE and their mission is to improve the lives of people affected by hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. It was started by a wonderful woman who cares deeply about this cause and who works tirelessly to make a difference in our community. FORCE has helped me, but more importantly I’ve seen the masses of women who have come to challenging crossroads in their lives and have persevered with the support of FORCE. I’ve sat in local meetings and watched women tearfully talk about how alone they felt before they discovered the support of FORCE.
FORCE has some important roles in our community. First and foremost, FORCE has the ability, through local outreach coordinators all over the country, to provide support on an individual and group level to women who are navigating the complex world of hereditary cancer. In addition to the local support groups, the message boards provide a safe-haven for women to come together. And the toll-free 1-800 number is a place for people to turn when they don’t know where else to go.
Second, FORCE advocates for the hereditary cancer community–taking on issues such as GINA to make sure our rights are protected and we cannot be discrimated against for our genetic make-up.
And last, FORCE helps raise awareness of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer so that women can learn of a cancer causing genetic mutation, take preventative measures and avoid a cancer diagnosis.
Have I convinced you enough how much I care about and love this organization? If I have, please take a few seconds to vote for FORCE in the Chase Community Giving Challenge. If you have another few seconds to spare, post it on your Facebook page, tweet it and share it with your friends. We have the opportunity to win a grand prize of $250,000, one of 4 runner up prizes of $100,000 or one of 195 $20,000 prizes. With your help, we can make this a reality.
Michigan is going smoke-free in 6 days
Last night, we walked into a restaurant and asked for non-smoking. So happy we will never have to do that again in Michigan. Love this TV spot created by my brilliant creative team at Brogan & Partners for the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Ta Ta Breast Cancer in action
The Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure is still 4 months away but we are in heavy planning and fundraising mode.
Very soon we’ll be entering training mode.
So much exciting news to report. We now have 48 team members–nearly double the size of last years team and we are shooting for $125,000. We’re still growing too and until Midnight CT on 4/23, you can save $25 off the registration when you use GOTEAM in the promotion code. So come on…Join us…We promise you an experience to remember.
In other news, we have tons of great ways for you (if you don’t want to walk) to help our team.
Getitpersonalized is offering a great Mother’s Day promotion. Stop by Sunday April 25 from 12-4 or Tuesday April 27 from 12-5, get your photo taken or bring in an existing photo, pick out your gift and they’ll have your personalized photo gift ready for you before Mother’s Day. Gifts start at $15. Be sure to mention Ta Ta Breast Cancer and 20% will come back to our team.
Shop for a cause at AISH in Oak Park on May 6 from 6pm-9pm. Great shirts for kids and adults, jewelry and personalized notecards.
Join us for drinks, dessert and singing with Lisa Soble Siegmann on May 16 from 7pm-10pm at the JCC Teen Center–a little bit of camp in the heart of West Bloomfield. The cost is $36 per person and $50 per couple and every dollar gets donated back to the 3-Day.
Join us for our annual fundraiser at 24 Seconds in Berkley, Michigan Monday June 21 5:00-9:30 for all you can eat pizza, salad, turkey roll ups, veggie roll ups, chips and salsa plus mac and cheese, chicken tenders and french fries for the kids. $13 for adults, $7 for kids.
We hope to see you at our 2nd annual 3-Day 4th fest July 2 from 6:30-11:30 for great food, raffles, auction and fun.
As spring approaches, In home Window and Carpet Cleaning will donate a percentage to Ta Ta Breast Cancer (and they do a great job). Be sure to mention Ta Ta Breast Cancer when you book your appointment.
For some great pampering, visit TD Nails in Berkley on Mondays or Tuesdays and mention Ta Ta Breast Cancer and a portion of your service will come back to our team.
If you can’t make it to any of our great fundraisers and still want to support our team, visit our team page and choose any one of our 48 team members to make a donation. We all have to make $2,300 and we appreciate every penny you can donate.
Thank you for helping Ta Ta Breast Cancer say goodbye to breast cancer forever.
April is Donate Life Month
Once again, it’s been awhile since I’ve made my way to my blog. And to be honest, I really miss it and wish I could find more time but three kids with busy schedules and a busy job keep me going pretty consistently. I love the craziness but only wish I could sneak 30 minutes every so often to keep up on my blogging.
Thankfully, my work gives me a lot of satisfaction and quite often, I’m able to mix my passion for great causes with my work life. Most recently, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Gift of Life Michigan on a donor drive 2010 campaign. I’ve always been a strong supporter of organ donation–can’t think for one minute why I need my organs when I’m not here anymore. I truly can’t imagine what it’s like for all the people waiting for organs and I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the Gift of Life Facebook page reading some pretty amazing stories.
What’s interesting to me is that so many people don’t understand that you cannot just sign the back of your driver’s license anymore. The online registry is the best way to make sure you are listed and recognized as a potential organ donor and it takes about 5 seconds to get through the process. April is Donate Life month–the perfect time to sign up on the registry so if you haven’t already, do it now. The 3,000 people in Michigan waiting for organs thank you.
Two Proud Mommas
My daughter and her good friend have a lot in common. They share their long brown hair, their love of soccer, their energetic spirits, their love of the “The Biggest Loser” TV show and the same birthday month.
The girls have been friends since before they were 2 years old and for the past 3 years, they’ve planned their joint birthday parties together. For their ninth birthday, they decided they didn’t need a lot of gifts but they had a long list of friends they wanted to include in their celebration. Enter Echoage, a relatively new organization that helps parents plan birthday parties that are good for the environment and give back at the same time. The online invite suggest a donation instead of a gift. Guests choose the amount they want to give and the girls get 50% of the total. The other half is donated to a charity that the girls select from the list of charities tied to Echoage. They chose Nourish America, an organization that feeds hungry children and through their selflessness, the organization received over $300.
The girls at preschool just after their 2nd birthdays
Planning for their February birthdays typically starts months in advance. After much discussion, the girls decided on a biggest birthday challenge, adapted from their favorite show “The Biggest Loser“. As guests arrived at the party, they were randomly assigned a team color and given their team t-shirt (designed by the two girls). They next learned the rules and were on to the first challenge, a basketball shoot-out. Following the shoot-out, the girls had an endurance challenge and a relay race. In the true spirit of “The Biggest Loser”, the girls asked their guests to bring cans of food instead of gifts. All of the guests had a ton of fun and left with their prizes–a pack of Extra Sugar Free gum–the official gum of “The Biggest Loser.”
The girls stand with all the food donations
The whole group
Today, my friend Stacy (the other mom) and I took the girls to Gleaners Food Bank to deliver the food. We had a short tour of the facility while they weighed our donation. It was a great moment watching the girls learn they had donated 124 pounds of food–the equivalent of 124 meals. We can only imagine what they’ll pull out of their sleeves for next year.
At Gleaners delivering 124 pounds of food
Let the Breast Cancer 3-Day fundraising begin
We seem to be kicking into high gear in the fundraising area pretty quickly which is great news since we’ve got a team of 30 members so far for the 2010 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the cure—all with a $2,300 goal.
Our big 2009 fundraiser
Here’s what we’ve got planned:
We’ll be wrapping gifts at Borders at 13 mile and Southfield Rd. on December 4, 5 and 11th from 10a-2p. Stop by and say hello, grab some gifts and let the lovely ladies (and one man) of Ta Ta Breast Cancer wrap them for you. Hope to see you there.
Also, on December 5th, print out a flyer and drop into Catching Fireflies for some great holiday shopping. 12% of whatever you purchase will benefit our team.
As always, you can visit TD nails on Mondays or Tuesdays, mention Ta Ta Breast Cancer and our team will benefit with 10% of your purchase.
Needs your carpets, tile or grout professionally cleaned; call In-home Window Cleaning at 248-623-5858. Schedule a free estimate. If you hire them, make sure to mention Ta Ta Breast Cancer and 15% will come back to our team.
And you can always do your holiday shopping online by registering as a member of our shopping portal. The great news is you get cash back and Ta Ta Breast Cancer benefits too.
Stay tuned for announcements about some other great fundraisers in the spring including a mother/daughter event at Salon Pavlina in Farmington Hills and our big theater fundraiser-Spring Awakening winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical in 2007. We’re hoping to raise $125,000 this year.
Got any other thoughts or ideas for us or want to join our team, leave a comment or get in touch.
Ellyn Davidson 
