Huntington Councilwoman Joan Cergol gave special recognition to the Greens at Half Hollow chapter of the group Babes Against Cancer for raising $129,038 this year for breast and prostate cancer research and support programs.
The chapter’s efforts, co-chaired by Maxine Koenig and Eileen Shindler, centered on four events held over the course of this year: a “greet and meet dinner” in June that 250 people attended; a men’s golf outing in July; women’s tournaments in golf, tennis, cards and mah jongg; and a charity walk through the Greens that capped off their activities in October.
Babes Against Cancer is an American Cancer Society program that is unique to the New York metropolitan area. It is based, mostly, at many of the private country clubs in the area and is named after Babe Didrikson Zaharias who was a legendary athlete of the mid-20th century. Zaharias won Olympic gold medals in track and field in 1932 and was an accomplished golfer who won ten Ladies Professional Golf Association championships. She was an inspiration to athletes, especially female athletes, in all sports. In 1956, she succumbed to colon cancer at the age of 45.
Babes Against Cancer began in 1972, and has raised more than $30 million since then for the American Cancer Society. It is the largest American Cancer society fundraiser of its kind and raises more than $1 million annually. The funds are split equally between breast cancer and prostate cancer research and support programs.
“Let’s give a big hand for all the ladies who got together, organized the events and participated in them,” Councilwoman Cergol said at the board meeting, “We are sure they will keep up the good work and aim to do even better next year for a great cause.”