BY MINTA K. CRAFTS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
THE KAREN MULLEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION
No doubt you’ve seen the pink splashed across these pages as you’ve flipped through Pizza Today over past couple years. So, why the pink? What is Slice of Hope? Slice of Hope is the answer to the question that had been nagging at this magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Jeremy White. What could be done about a disease that is so all encompassing that one in eight women will be hit with it in their lifetime? And furthermore, what could his involvement in the pizza industry do to help these women? What Jeremy resolved to do was to make a call to action to all 70,000 pizzerias in this country to come together for one day and fight breast cancer in a meaningful way. What was born from this was Slice of Hope and the Karen Mullen Breast Cancer Foundation.
I recently became the Development Director (and first employee ever!) of the Karen Mullen Breast Cancer Foundation and committed myself to this cause after also being personally touched by the disease. That’s all it really takes –– for one person you know and love to be affected by it. It’s just like you are instantly part of this ‘club’ that you never knew existed or could possibly hold so many of us in its web. You can be left at an absolute loss for what to do in the face of something so daunting. But the answer can be simple; the answer is simply to act. Some people race, some people host gala dinners –– what we’re asking you to do is come together as a community of restaurant owners for one night and give so that we can fund the breast cancer research studies that will one day find a cure for this disease.
You’ve read pieces like this before, so what sets us apart? Why should you choose to join us and give a piece of your hard-earned profits to our foundation? You should choose to give because chances are you are reading this and thinking of an aunt, a customer, a wife or a daughter who has had this disease. You should choose to give because your contribution will help them find hope or even save their life. And finally, why Slice of Hope? Because 100 percent of our proceeds go directly to the Karen Mullen Breast Cancer Foundation. No overhead costs, no wondering where your dollars went –– every dollar raised goes directly to the leading breast cancer research studies around the country.
As you read this and think about participating in this year’s Slice of Hope, understand that we are united by the commonality of this disease. Understand that as one of the largest industries in the nation, we have the opportunity (and possibly the obligation) to come together and truly affect enormous positive change in our communities. We hope that you choose to join us in our efforts to end this disease and become part of our growing community this year, and in the years to come.
Thank you.