The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event marked its 18th year in Ocean City. (Photo courtesy of American Cancer Society)
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer raised $545,000 to support the American Cancer Society during its 18th annual event in Ocean City on Sunday.
Breast cancer survivors, caregivers, supporters and families gathered at the Ocean City Civic Center for the fundraiser, which was presented by Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City.
“Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event in Ocean City was a testament to the resiliency of the breast cancer community,” Joshua Walker, American Cancer Society vice president of development for Greater Philadelphia, said in a news release.
The event was originally scheduled to be held in October, but was postponed because of bad weather.
Walker praised the “amazing volunteers, partners, and staff who stepped up to ensure the event would still take place no matter what.”
“It is that kind of unwavering support for families facing cancer that makes our American Cancer Society community so unique, and we could not be more grateful,” he said.
Making Strides Against Cancer was founded in 1984 by Margery Gould Rath, a breast cancer survivor in Massachusetts, as a “move-along-a-thon” to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.
The event officially became known as the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in 1993 and has since inspired millions of people to participate in events in communities across the country, including Ocean City for the past 18 years.
Over the past three decades, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer events in communities across the country have raised approximately $1 billion to support breast cancer research, patient programs and direct services.
More than 319,750 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2025, including almost 60,000 in New Jersey alone, according to the American Cancer Society.
