by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Winn-Dixie took yet another step Monday to help re-establish itself in the local marketplace when the grocery store chain presented the National Breast Cancer Foundation with a $250,000 donation.
The funds were raised by Winn-Dixie employees in conjunction with about two dozen of the store’s vendors. This wasn’t a year-long campaign, either.
“It took us less than six months,” said Winn-Dixie CEO and Chairman Peter Lynch. “We were focused and we got the job done.”
Lynch said the fundraising campaign for breast cancer may become an annual event for Winn-Dixie and its vendors. The store recently held its annual charity golf outing at World Golf Village and raised $1.4 million.
“That is not only a record for Winn-Dixie, but it may be a record for other charity events,” said Lynch.
Monday’s press conference at the Winn-Dixie headquarters on Edgewood Court drew a crowd of Winn-Dixie employees and vendors big enough to fill the company’s auditorium to nearly standing-room only. Linda Glace, the promotions manager for Winn-Dixie, said the company had done in-house fundraisers for breast cancer in the past, but nothing like the most recent campaign.
“We knew we didn’t have the ability to do it ourselves, so we teamed up with our vendors,” said Glace, adding the campaign will help men and women at Mayo Clinic, the Alabama Breast Cancer Early Prevention Program, the Mississippi State Health Department and the League Against Cancer. “Our goal is to provide free mammograms to those who can’t afford them.”
National Breast Cancer Foundation co-founders Neal and Janelle Hail were on hand to accept the check from Lynch. Janelle was diagnosed with breast cancer 27 years. Through early detection and treatment, she beat the cancer. In 1991, Hail and her husband founded the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which is aimed at early detection and assuring those diagnosed with breast cancer get the proper treatment.
“I am overwhelmed by the generosity of Winn-Dixie,” said Hail. “Their participation to join us in a national mammography program is heartwarming. The funds will start right here in Jacksonville.”
Hail said the average mammogram costs about $100 with the cost dependent on the area of the country. She said they cost $350 in New York City, but much less in other areas of the country.
Dr. Edith Perez, director of the breast cancer program at Mayo Clinic, said breast cancer affects the entire family and the key to preventing it is early detection.
“One-hundred and ninety-thousand men and women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006,” said Perez. “Through early detection, the fatalities are decreasing. We are working to find the genetic abnormality that causes the cancer.”
Lynch said the campaign is another example of Winn-Dixie’s commitment to the communities where there are Winn-Dixie stores.
“We want to be a company that helps families and helps the communities grow,” said Lynch.
Hail said early detection is easily the best treatment.
“I am alive and well today because of early detection,” she said.