Inspired Volunteers Will "Walk For Diane" to Promote Early Detection of Breast Cancer -- Sunday, Oct. 19 in New Brunswick

Some people face adversity with such extraordinary strength and courage that they leave a legacy for others to do great things. If longtime South Brunswick resident Diane Goodwin was alive today, the wife and mother who lived life to the fullest for 16 years after a stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis, would be proud of what she inspired: a growing legion of volunteers who share the passion and the optimism she had for helping others, especially those unable to help themselves.

That’s what the 6th Annual “Walk for Diane” is all about – to promote awareness of the early detection of breast cancer and to help women without the financial means to receive yearly and potentially life-saving mammograms to screen for breast cancer.

The 5K walk, in honor of Diane, who died in 2009, begins at 9:00 a.m. (check-in at 8:00 a.m.) – originating and ending at Buccleuch Park in New Brunswick at the intersection of Easton Avenue and Huntington Street across from Saint Peter’s University Hospital.

“I’m so moved and gratified by the outpouring of support for this importance cause,” said John Goodwin, Diane’s husband and a member of the board of The Amy Feiman Behar Foundation, which sponsors the Walk for Diane. “It’s rewarding to see how the walk continues to attract volunteers making a real difference in the lives of women who simply can’t afford annual breast cancer screenings. We’ve set an ambitious fundraising goal of $30,000 this year. So please, come out and walk with us.”

The money raised from the Walk for Diane goes toward the cost of screening mammograms at Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro and diagnostic ultrasounds at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

All walkers are asked for a $10 registration fee, as well as to raise $70 – half the cost of a screening mammogram – by using the online fundraising tool on The Amy Foundation website: www.amyfoundation.com.

You can register to “Participate as an Individual” or to “Join a Team” or “Create a Team.” Donations also can be made in support of specific walkers, a team or in general. All donations are tax-deductible.

Over the past seven years, The Amy Foundation has donated more than $300,000 to its medical partners: Saint Peter’s University Hospital, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and University Medical Center at Princeton. In turn, these medical facilities have provided several thousand free mammograms for women -- age 40 and over. A few of those mammograms have resulted in the detection of breast cancer in its earliest stages, so supporters of the foundation may have saved the lives of women who received this diagnosis.

The Foundation was created in memory of Amy Feiman Behar, a South Brunswick resident who was 49 when she died of breast cancer in 2007. Amy Behar and Diane Goodwin were close friends and inspirations for their courage and strength, and for their desire to help others.

(The Amy Feiman Behar Foundation for Cancer Prevention Inc. was established in 2007 and has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to The Amy Foundation are tax-deductible. The Amy Foundation has no paid staff; it is run by volunteers who believe in its mission.)

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Media Contact: Jeff Leebaw -- 609-664-7429