Yard sale/health fair to help raise funds for From Our Hearts group
Pine Island-based From Our Hearts is a non-profit group that helps women pay for mammograms and breast cancer treatments who don’t have insurance and can’t afford it.
They helped a close personal friend of Lindy Lord-Cooper, manager at Champion Self Storage on Pine Island Road, and she wanted the opportunity to give back.
She came up with the concept of a community yard sale at the storage facility, where proceeds and space rental would be donated back to From Our Hearts. The event will be held Saturday, Jan. 21, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Champion Self Storage, 2607 Pine Island Road.
But as Lord-Cooper began organizing the event, which as of now has 33 tables and more coming, it became apparent that it was important to focus on more than just a yard sale.
“It started as a yard sale but it quickly blossomed,” she said.
The focus is now more of a health fair, with Lord-Copper inviting a host of health and safety organizations.
The Big Red Bus will be there taking blood donations; All Pro Health Care and Around the Clock Fitness will be attending and offering many of their services; the Lee County Sheriff’s office will be offering free finger printing for kids.
The Mobile Mammo coach will also be on hand, offering screenings without prescriptions.
Most insurances are accepted, but a discounted mammogram is being offered for $150. Appointments are strongly suggested.
Justine Saunders, Mobile Mammo Program coordinator, said the level of treatment and care are the same on the Mobile Mammo unit, as they are at the Radiology Regional Center.
Saunders added that all the equipment on Mobile Mammo is state of the art.
“We want to make sure women take advantage of having a mammogram and we’ll stay as long as we have to to accommodate the ladies in the community,” Saunders said.
From Our Hearts will also have a presence at the event, according to board member Karen Washburn.
Washburn said all women fighting breast cancer are due the proper care and medical treatment, regardless of their insurance status.
Her mother is also a breast cancer survivor.
“No one should be dependent on financial ability because the disease is curable,” she said.
For those women looking to take advantage of From Our Hearts financial assistance, Washburn said a pre-qualification process is necessary.
With up to three weeks before the event, she said there’s still time to go through that process and have a mammogram done on the mobile unit.
Information on how to start that process is available on the group’s website, fromourheart.org.
“Early detection is our goal. If it’s caught early it’s a treatable disease,” she added.
There’s also still time to set up a table at the yard sale, according to Lord-Cooper.
“This is a great way to work with the community and give back,” she said.
For more information, contact Champion Self Storage at 282-2866.