Media Center - Press Releases

Area Fountains Turn Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness

CONTACT: Richard Blondheim

PHONE: (334)284-LIFE (5433)

The public is invited to attend, as the waters in two very prominent Montgomery fountains are turned pink to raise breast cancer awareness and herald the upcoming Joy to Life Foundation’s Ninth Annual Walk of Life.

The fountain in the center of the Shoppes at EastChase will be “pinked” on Saturday, March 13 at 2:00 pm. Main Street in EastChase will also be decorated in pink for the event. A special presentation will be made to honor breast cancer survivors, supporters, sponsors, participants and official starters for the upcoming 2010 Walk of Life. Survivors attending the event will be invited to help turn the fountain’s waters pink. Afterwards the public is invited to receive more information from the area breast cancer organizations at a special storefront located next to Abercrombie & Fitch. Participating organizations include the Joy to Life Foundation, Cancer Wellness Foundation, Sistas CAN Survive Coalition, Women of Hope and the American Cancer Society. Along with Mayor Todd Strange, these organizations will also share the spotlight as official starters for the 2010 Walk of Life.

Monday, March 15, Montgomery's Court Square Fountain will be turned pink during a ceremony to be held at noon. Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, along with the official starters of the 2010 Walk of Life - The Cancer Wellness Foundation, Sistas CAN Survive Coalition, Women of Hope and the American Cancer Society - will gather with survivors and the Joy to Life Foundation to turn the waters pink.

Joy and Richard Blondheim of Montgomery founded the Joy to Life Foundation in 2001. Mrs. Blondheim is a breast cancer survivor and the Blondheims have dedicated their time and efforts to women who are fighting to win the battle against breast cancer. After extensive research, the Blondheims formed a partnership with the Alabama Department of Public Health's Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program to provide mammograms to women less than 50 years of age who do not have private insurance and cannot afford mammograms. "If we can reach these women early enough, we believe lives can be saved," states Mrs. Blondheim.

Breast Cancer TV Wins National Award

CONTACT: Richard Blondheim

PHONE: (334)284-LIFE (5433)

Big Dreamz Creative, a Prattville-based media production company which focuses on videography, photography and design, has been awarded a Silver W3 Award from the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA) for their work on the web site www.breastcancertv.net (BCTV). The site, which is an outreach of the Joy to Life Foundation, is unique in that it is video-driven. The site currently features over twenty videos focusing on a variety of subjects of interest to the breast cancer community--including life stories from breast cancer survivors.

“We are very proud of the work we have done for BCTV,” said Nancy Fields, Big Dreamz Creative’s Art Director. “The site is a wonderful source of information for anyone dealing with breast cancer and there’s more to come. Being recognized from almost 3,000 entrants lets you know that we’re not just providing information, but we’re doing it creatively and effectively.”

In it’s fourth year, the W³ Awards honors creative excellence on the web, and recognizes the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning sites, marketing programs, and video work created for the web. In honoring outstanding websites, web advertising, and web video, the W³ Awards is the first major web competition to be accessible to the biggest agencies, the smallest firms, and everyone in between

"We were incredibly impressed by the quality and creativity of this year’s entries. W3 winners continue to set the bar in Web development and design, push the limits of web advertising creativity and advance the use of web video. We are thrilled to have reviewed such a diverse and respected pool of work,” said Linda Day, the executive director of the IAVA, an invitation‐only body consisting of top‐tier professionals from acclaimed media, interactive, advertising, and marketing firms. "On behalf of the entire Academy, we congratulate this year’s W³ Award winners as they continue to advance Internet creativity and greatly contribute to the robust and ever-changing online community."

PINK LURE TOUR ATTRACTS AREA ANGLERS AND CELEBRITIES

CONTACT: Richard Blondheim

PHONE: (334)284-LIFE (5433)

The Joy to Life Foundation will be hosting its First Annual Pink Lure Tour Bass Tournament; Saturday, October 3, 2009 at Cooter’s Pond in Prattville, Alabama and the event has attracted a host of area anglers--both male and female--as well as a number of celebrities.

The tournament will be hosted by Bass Angler Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) founder Ray Scott and Doug Hannon, best known for his appearances on ESPN as the "Bass Professor". Scott is also known for his contributions to outdoor ventures including BASSMASTER Magazine, Southern Outdoors, Fishing Tackle Retailer, and the award-winning national television series “The BASSMASTERS”. Hannon holds 15 U. S. patents on various fishing inventions ranging from fishing lures and chemical treatments to improve fish survival in release tournaments, to boat anchors and the “weedless” trolling motor prop now seen on virtually every fishing motor made today.

“This tournament is different from any other I’ve been involved in because it saves lives,” said Scott referring to the fact that tournament proceeds will stay in Alabama to support the Joy to Life Foundation and its efforts to assist in supporting screenings and early detection of breast cancer for the medically underserved in 28 Alabama counties.

In addition to Scott and Hannon, Don Day and Rick Redmon, hosts of the popular outdoor show “Venture Outdoors” will serve as tournament emcees.

Blast-off time will be at safe light, and is based on each participant’s registration number. Weigh-in will begin at 3pm unless otherwise specified before blast-off by tournament directors. Family and friends of participants as well as breast cancer survivors are encouraged to attend the weigh-in and enjoy bar-b-que and take advantage of a variety of giveaways. Participants who have not pre-registered may register on the day of the tournament at Cooter’s Pond. The Pink Lure Tour will pay 15 places with first place winning $5000 and additional cash prizes will be awarded to the highest finishing male/female and female/female teams.

For additional information, please contact Boyd Hodge at 334.657.3022, Terry Mullins at 334.300.6867 or visit www.joytolife.org.

AREA HOUSES FOR WORSHIP ENCOURAGED TO "PRAY IN PINK"

CONTACT: Richard Blondheim

PHONE: (334)284-LIFE (5433)

Pray in Pink is an opportunity for area houses of worship (churches, synagogues, and mosques) to work together in an effort to raise awareness of breast cancer, honor breast cancer survivors and provide life-saving information about breast cancer prevention and treatment to their congregants during the weekend of October 16, 17 & 18, 2009. The event is a collaborative effort between The Joy to Life Foundation, Montgomery Advertiser, the Montgomery, Autauga, Elmore Medical Alliance and the City of Montgomery.

Congregations across the area are encouraged to make one day, or the entire weekend, a celebration of survivors and co-survivors by hosting a special luncheon for survivors, encouraging attendees to wear pink clothes or by inviting survivors to speak about their experiences.

Houses of worship who choose to participate can register for the event at www.prayinpink.org. Upon registration, they will be provided with a number of free service programming ideas along with informative materials regarding breast cancer detection and treatment that can be duplicated and made available to congregants.

DVDs featuring videos from www.breastcancertv.net will also be available free of charge. The videos feature local doctors addressing breast cancer issues and breast cancer survivors sharing their experiences.

Also, limited edition “Pray in Pink” tote bags will be available for purchase. The bags can be used as gifts for congregants or sold as a fundraiser.

Donations collected over the weekend will be shared with The Joy to Life Foundation, Women of Hope, The American Cancer Society, Cancer Wellness Foundation and Sistas Can Survive.