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| The Pink Pals are (from left to right) Ellen Baldwin, Barbara Conda, Cathy Barnhorst and Leslie Ware. (courtesy photo) |
By Pat Sommers
Staff Columnist
PORTSMOUTH –
Four area residents have harnessed the “power of pink” to
earn some serious green to help women battling breast cancer.
Ellen Baldwin, Cathy Barnhorst, Barbara Conda and Leslie
Ware are finalizing plans for their third gala fundraiser, “Santa’s Got a Brand
New Bag.” The dinner and auction, held at the Portsmouth Harbor Events and
Conference Center, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Thursday, November 15, will
offer about 160 high-fashion handbags, including a collection of seven designer
purses donated by celebrity Oprah Winfrey.
The four organizers – known as the Pink Pals – will donate
proceeds from the event to York Hospital’s Breast Cancer Living Well Program
where the funds will be used to support women receiving treatment in ways that
typically fall outside the parameters of health insurance coverage.
According to Dawn Fernald, hospital director of marketing
and new service development, the fund established by the four Pals may, for
example, provide a wig for a woman who has lost her hair as a result of
chemotherapy but cannot afford a suitable hairpiece on her own. Or, it could
help a woman and her family with the cost of traveling to and from cancer
treatment facilities.
“York Hospital is honored to have the Pink Pals work so hard
to help our patients and their families,” said Fernald. “Over 25 percent of
patients diagnosed with cancer at York Hospital are diagnosed with breast
cancer, making it the most prevalent cancer in our community. The funds raised
by this event will undoubtedly affect the lives of many in our community.”
It was Leslie Ware who first posed the idea of hosting a
designer handbag auction. “Leslie
came up with the idea,” said Barbara Conda, noting Ware had friends who had
hosted a similar event. She networked with those friends, and the Pals set to
work planning their own event in the Seacoast region. It was Ware who also
dubbed the gala “Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag.”
The Pink Pals, who laughingly decline to give their ages but
describe themselves as “mature professionals,” enlisted the help of friends,
relatives and hospital staff members to serve on planning committees for the
dinner-auction. “We have women of all ages, from young to old, from late 20s
and early 30s to women in their 80s,” said Cathy Barnhorst of the inter-generational
effort.
Leisa Smith, a dietitian with the hospital’s Dining and
Nutrition Services, was tasked with contacting Winfrey, a favorite with the
hospital staff, to ask if she would donate a handbag. To catch the attention of
the entertainment icon and the staff of her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Smith
and her team created a video on which they sang, “Oprah, we want to OWN your
handbag” to the tune of the early Beatles hit “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”
The video was uploaded on YouTube and shared through social
media sites in an effort to draw notice by Winfrey. It did. Just two weeks
after the video was launched, the hospital was contacted by an OWN staff member
from Los Angeles who promised a handbag autographed by Oprah.
And just a few days later, York Hospital accepted shipment
of two large cartons containing not one but seven signed designer handbags –
from Versace to Ferragamo – all straight from the closet of Oprah.
Signed purses donated by actress Sally Struthers, a favorite
at summer productions at Ogunquit Playhouse, and by Emmy-winning television
star Carson Kressley, will also go on the block, as will a purse contributed by
chef Mary Ann Esposito, whose “Ciao Italia” is America’s longest-running TV
cooking show. Esposito, who is expected to attend the event, donated a glittery
pink bag she selected especially for fundraiser while on a recent trip to
Italy.
In their first two fundraising efforts – spectacular fashion
shows hosted under tents on the grounds at Ogunquit Playhouse – the Pink Pals
brought in about $200,000. They hope to top the $300,000 mark with proceeds
from “Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag.”
“Ellen and I started the first fashion show, but we had
never done a show of that size so we asked Cathy to help us put the show
together,” Conda said. Leslie, who was literally recruited on the street
outside a shop - “She was carrying a clipboard and she looked organized…” - completed
the fundraising quartet.
Money raised by that first fashion show was donated to York
Hospital toward its purchase of a digital mammography machine. “But we didn’t
want to raise money for a machine,” said Conda of the subsequent effort. “We
wanted it to go to women who were going through cancer treatment.”
The Pink Pals met with hospital officials who agreed to establish
and administer such a fund.
“We embrace the power of pink,” Barnhorst said of the
Pals. None of the four has
personally received a cancer diagnosis, she said, “But cancer has touched all
of us in some way… family, friends.”
“Santa’s Got a Brand
New Bag” will open with a champagne reception with butlered hors d’oeuvres. A
silent auction will be conducted during the 90-minute cocktail hour. A
four-course, small-plate dinner and live auction will follow. The Pals also
promise several surprises, including a special dessert planned for the
fundraiser.
An Oprah-donated handbag will be awarded as a door prize, as
will a Christmas tree decorated in a pink color scheme and a handbag motif.
Because the 300 tickets offered for “Santa’s Got a Brand New
Bag” sold quickly, a waiting list has been established. Should cancellations
occur, those on the list will be contacted.
Seacoast residents can also vie for the chance to own a
gorgeous designer bag, including one carried by Oprah Winfrey, through an
online auction now in progress. The online auction offers twenty bags of all
shapes and sizes and in all price ranges. Several are signed by celebrities.
Bidding will continue through Sunday, November 18.
Visit www.yorkhospital.com and click on the pink auction button
for details on both the November 15 gala and the online auction, or call
207-351-2385.
