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Basketball tournament shoots to aid breast cancer survivors

SOUTHINGTON — The war against breast cancer still rages in Southington, with basketballs and gift baskets as the primary weapons.

The eighth annual This Means War 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament and Chinese Auction is set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 13 at Chalker High School. The tournament and family-friendly activities raise money to help offset expenses not covered by insurance for a local breast cancer survivor each year.

The recipient of this year’s fundraiser will be Jessica Gardner, 35, of Niles, an English teacher at Brookfield High School, who was diagnosed with Stage III B breast cancer nearly two years ago while eight-months pregnant. Mother and daughter both are doing well, but treatments for Gardner will continue for the next 20 years.

“We’ve been extremely blessed. We’ve got a really giving community,” said Ken Moy, This Means War Against Breast Cancer foundation president.

In its first seven years, the group says it distributed about $53,000 to survivors.

Moy put together the first fundraiser in 2011 in a matter of weeks to help longtime friend Beth Ann Vanek of Southington, a nurse and mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30.

Vanek has said she could have given up hope. But, she said, incredible people were the blessing that allowed her to beat the cancer.

“I learned to celebrate the small victories … and to never pass up the opportunity to tell somebody that you love them,” Vanek has said. “I made a decision to to fight.”

She and family members, including her husband, Chuck, and sister, Kelli Weir, joined with Moy to create the nonprofit foundation in 2012 to keep the giving going.

“And really, what keeps the thing going is just we’ve got a dedicated group of people who, despite their extremely busy lives and everything like that, they just have the desire to help,” Moy said. “Beth being our original honoree, she’s the acting vice president. We all kind of gathered around her. We just keep each other motivated year in and year out.”

The first year drew 17 teams to the tournament, Moy said. Now it ranges from 25 to 40 teams across the six divisions.

Registration for the tournament is under way at WarAgainstBreastCancer.webs.com.

“The tournament also will include a half-court shot contest where winners earn free steak for a year from Texas Roadhouse in Niles,” Weir said. “Each shot is $5 and each shooter will receive a coupon for a free appetizer. Participation is open to anyone and no reservations are needed.”

The auction will have more than 100 items up for bid, including a Cancun vacation, a flat-screen TV and scratch-off lottery ticket tree. Other items are gift certificates to family fun parks, sporting events and restaurants.

General item tickets are 2 for $1. Tickets for specialty items valued at $100 or more are $1 each.

The family-friendly event, sponsored by Great Lakes Cheese / Adams Reserve and The Hope Center for Cancer Care, will feature princess and super hero characters from Castle On A Cloud Entertainment, face painting and other children’s activities.

Attendees also can get screened for breast cancer, Weir said.

“New this year, we are partnering with the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center in Youngstown to bring the center’s mobile mammography unit to Trumbull County. The mammovan will be parked at Southington Local Schools between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 13,” she said. “There are 40 appointment slots that we need to fill.”

For information and to schedule an appointment, call 330-480-2654. Those who visit the mammovan may be eligible for financial assistance under Joanie’s Promise if they have no health insurance or have a high deductible, Weir said.

bcole@tribtoday.com

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