Successful Night for Fight the Beast Fundraiser

[Editor's note: The following was submitted by the Melanoma Education Foundation.]

On April 29 over 400 people filled Anthony’s Restaurant in Malden for the third Annual “Fight the Beast” Fundraiser. The hugely successful event raised $21,000 for the Melanoma Education Foundation (MEF). The foundation educates people on the importance of skin check and is currently assisting 1,000 schools in 43 states.

The Master of Ceremonies was Gary Christenson, mayoral candidate for the City of Malden. The keynote speakers were Steve Fine, founder of MEF and Stacy Mancaniello, the chairperson of the event.

Stacy Mancaniello, originally from Malden and a Melanoma survivor, gave a passionate speech that had the crowd looking around the room to realize that the 400-plus people in the room represented the number of people who will die in two weeks from melanoma. Steve Fine, founder of MEF and who lost a son to Melanoma awarded Stacy Mancaniello with a MEF achievement award recognizing her recent appointment to MEF board and for her fundraising abilities.

The crowd was then entertained by a group of comedians including Paul Gilligan, David Russo, Sal Votano, and Steve Sweeney. The event was so well received, the committee has secured a date for next year’s event on April 27, 2012 under the new name “Check for Change-Defeat Melanoma” to drive home the importance of skin check and that it will save lives.

If you would like to learn more about melanoma and early detection methods please visit www.skincheck.org.