Organizers Expect 8,000 to Participate in Panerathon
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Participation in the 2013 Panerathon is on track to outpace last year’s event by a third, organizers anticipate.
The annual event, which raises funds for the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center in Youngstown, begins at 10 a.m. Aug. 25 at the Covelli Center. What event organizers bill as “the Greatest Week in the Valley” will kick off with a concert this Friday night featuring Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo.
Last year, Panerathon attracted 6,000 participants and this year the event is on track for 8,000, said Liz Fiorino, regional marketing director for Covelli Enterprises, the largest franchisee for the Panera Bread bakery/café chain.
“We are pacing ahead of where we were this time last year,” Fiorino said.
Launched in 2010 to support development of the Abdu Center at Humility of Mary Health Partners’ St. Elizabeth Health Center, the event is the primary fundraiser for the Joanie’s Promise Fund, which provides the financial resources for diagnostic screenings and education for women “regardless of their ability to pay,” said Tim Schultis, president of the HMHP Foundation. Funds raised though the event go to the HMHP Foundation to support the Abdu Center.
“The center has already done 10,000 screenings in the two years since it opened and that’s just amazing,” Fiorino remarked.
“The Panerathon really allows us to fulfill our mission,” Schultis said. In addition to raising funds, the event heightens awareness of the center and of the importance for women to get screenings and seek treatment, he said.
Part of the money raised goes to funding a staff person whose job is to go out to churches, neighborhood centers and other venues to educate women on the importance of screenings. Before the Abdu center was built, Schultis noted, mortality rates for women in the Mahoning Valley from breast cancer were among the highest in the country. “So it’s really important that we reach the churches and the community centers to get the message out,” he remarked.
Panerathon participants pay a registration fee to take part in either a 10k or 2-mile walk-run, and can register in advance at the website or at the Covelli Centre the day or the event for a higher fee. A free, quarter–mile kids run will also take place.
“There’s food, fun music, entertainment, lots of things to do for the whole family, so it’s realy less of a race and more of a community event. We’re really excited to see how it’s grown over the years,” Fiorino said.
The Covelli Centre has been host to the event since its inception. “We’re excited to be involved in different aspects of it,” said Kelsey Rupert, director of marketing and sales. “A few years ago, we kind of test drove a kickoff concert with Barry Manilow and we found it had such a great response so we wanted to try and add that element in this year as well.” Benatar and Giraldo have been involved in “all elements of the concert,” including advance promotion and the “Love is a Battlefield” contest. A portion of the concert proceeds go to Panerathon as well.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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