BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
PARK RIDGE—A local mother and daughter are about to head to New York City to undertake a very personal, very meaningful walk. And they need your help.
Gina Franco, who has taken on New York’s two-day, 39.3-mile Avon Breast Cancer Walk for the past three years, is going to be joined for the first time with her daughter, Dominique, at the organization’s 15th annual walk, Oct. 14 and 15.
In 2016, Gina was one of 3,100 walk participants from 44 states and Washington, D.C., helping to raise $7.6 million to accelerate breast cancer research; improve access to screening, diagnosis, and treatment; and educate people about breast cancer.
Gina’s mother was diagnosed with the disease only last year, and is finishing radiation treatment. Early detection made a world of difference; many of Gina’s friends over the years have battled the disease, and when she walks in these events, she said, she reconnects with so many kindred spirits from all walks of life.
“It’s very emotional for me and my daughter,” Gina said.
Since the AVON 39’s launch in 2003, more than 220,000 participants have raised nearly $590 million, the organization says on its website. Funds raised are distributed to local, regional, and national breast cancer organizations.
This year, Gina and Dominique aim to raise $3,600 between them to participate. And that’s where you come in.
The Park Ridge Dairy Queen, owned by Judy DiBella and family, looks forward to donating a portion of the proceeds from a day of fundraising sales, Aug. 15 from 4 to 9 p.m., to help the team meet their goal.
“We love to give back to the community. This was easy for us,” DiBella told the Pascack Press in a phone interview.
She added, “We can’t lose sight of this. All illnesses are important, but Dominique, from a young age, has always wanted to do projects to help people in need going through hard times.”
A couple of years ago at Dominique’s request the DQ threw itself into raising funds for gift cards and toys for children being treated for cancer at Hackensack University Medical Center.
The store also has pushed sales to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals across the United States and Canada.
According to both Judy DiBella and Gina Franco, Dominique is a force to reckon with. The 19-year-old, a Park Ridge High School graduate, has worked shifts at the Dairy Queen since she was 14 and even now helps out behind the counter when they’re in a bind.
She attends the University of Rhode Island’s nursing program, and has been raising money for cancer research since she was 5. She also heads up her sorority’s main outreach campaign, the fight against breast cancer.
“She intends to work as a pediatric oncologist at St. Jude’s Hospital in Tennessee, that’s how driven she is. That’s would be her dream come true,” Gina said.
In addition to the Dairy Queen fundraiser, Dominique is organizing a “Shake a Can” collection on Park Avenue over Labor Day weekend—“that usually does us well,” Gina said—and a social media push to raise funds.
Gina, who also has four boys, is no stranger to the need to organize well, and early. It’s easy to see how this family tackles challenges: Lace up your shoes and get right to work.
This year’s walk through Manhattan will see participants conquer the Upper West and East Sides, Greenwich Village, SoHo, and Chinatown, with views of Central Park, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall. They’ll cross the Brooklyn Bridge on their way to the finish line.
The Dairy Queen is at 144 Kinderkamack Road. For more information on the event, which welcomes sponsors, visit avon39.org.