Paddle for Pink raises $25,000 for breast cancer care
MALVERN ― The Lake Mohawk Paddle for Pink fundraiser to help combat breast cancer just keeps getting bigger and bigger every year.
This year's event, held at the lake located 1.5 miles south of Malvern in Carroll County, raised $25,749, all of which will go to patients at Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in Canton. The first event, held in 2020, raised more than $5,000 and the 2021 paddle raised more than $15,000.
More:Lake Mohawk residents host Paddle for Pink to raise money for breast cancer survivors
"It's a real small community, and it's just great the way that community comes together for a cause like this," said Kim Frantz, one of the organizers. "Everything that we gave away, the prizes, the goody bags, all the food, and everything that we're drinking was all donated by local businesses and local people. The people raised the money. They asked their neighbors and their friends. They raised all the money. All the money goes for breast cancer patients."
About 110 people participated in this year's event, paddling around Lake Mohawk for nearly 3 hours, with a break for lunch.
Lisa Demarinis, who has lived at Lake Mohawk for 50 years, participated in the event on behalf of her mother, Beverly, who is a 5-year breast cancer survivor.
"This is a wonderful cause," she said.
Demarinis had been unable to participate in the previous two paddles because of work commitments.
"This year, I told my boss how important it was that I be here," she said. "Somehow they let me off work today, so I'm very happy to be here. It was a good day to be here."
In the past, residents of Lake Mohawk have had a golf outing to raise money for breast cancer care, Frantz said. But they were unable to do so in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So several women who like to paddle decided to paddle around Lake Mohawk and raise money, she said. It was a way they could help out but still remain socially distant.
Since then, "every year it gets bigger," Frantz said.
Amy Thiel, a registered nurse who is breast cancer coordinator for Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, watched the event from a pontoon boat on the lake.
"It's just absolutely amazing that they raised this much money for our patients," she said. "We use this money. It goes directly to the patients. We use it for free mammograms. We can provide mastectomy bras, we can provide wigs to some patients. We really appreciate this money a lot."
She noted that the money raised does not go to administration. Instead, it is used to help patients with mortgage bills, utilities and transportation costs.
"We have a lot of patients who are underinsured," she said.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Paddle for Pink at Lake Mohawk in Carroll County
