Thanks for Coming!

Front Page, Local, NewsTicker on May 14th, 2012 No Comments

Thanks For Coming!  A HUGE thank you to all who made the 2012 RACE IN THE PARK such a beautiful experience for those attending and such a meaningful success.
It does take a village – Thank you to our volunteers, sponsors, survivors, families, the media and the City of New Britain.

Click on “Read More” to view next steps, results and photos!

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2012 Race in the Park Results Now Posted!

Local, NewsTicker on May 14th, 2012 No Comments

The results of both 5K races are now posted on our website.  Please click here to see the results!  If you have any corrections to your name or age, please send an email to info@ctrace.org. Thanks.

16th Annual Cathy D’Apice Memorial Volleyball Tournament a Success!

Local, NewsTicker on April 27th, 2012 No Comments

On Sunday, April 22, 10 College Volleyball Teams from the Northeast competed at Conard High, West Hartford, in memory of Cathy D’Apice who died 20 years ago at the age of 30, when she lost her battle to breast cancer.  This year marked the 16th annual competition and fundraiser.

The tournament has donated nearly $100,000 to the CT Breast Health Initiative in that time frame.

Tracey D'Apice Cugno, Mike D'Apice, Mary D'Apice, Joanne Bozadjian (CT BHI volunteer), Gerry D'Apice, Joyce Bray (CT BHI President), Louise Belkin (CT BHI Treasurer), Sylvia Webb (CT BHI volunteer), Fran Vandermeer (Cathy D'Apice Memorial Volleyball Tournament Coordinator)

 

Pink in the Park Night!

Local on April 4th, 2012 No Comments

Join the CT Breast Health Initiative, Health Mart, and the Rock Cats for Pink in the Park night, Saturday, April 21, 2012…game time: 6:35 pm. Everyone who registers for the 2012 CT Race in the Park can request a complimentary ticket to Pink in the Park night on their race application. Additional tickets can be purchased for $5.50 each. Catch the Rock Cats in their pink jerseys…and wear pink to show your support.  Click here to purchase a ticket. Click here for a complete event description.

Exciting April Fundraisers!

Local on April 2nd, 2012 No Comments
Come out in the month of April and support CTBHI at these exciting fundraisers!

Wednesday, April 11th : CHILI’S GIVE BACK NIGHT

Visit the Cromwell Chili’s on 13 Elm Road between 11am and 11pm on Wednesday, April 11th. When you present this Chili’s Give Back Night Flyer to your server, Chili’s will donate 10% of their profits to us! Click this link for more information: Chili’s Give Back Night.

 

Friday, April 27th: ZUMBA AWAY FOR JAY

Join Zumba instructor, Marie Colandrea at Cromwell High School on Friday, April 27th from 7-9pm for a two hour Zumba class! All proceeds benefit the CT Breast Health Initiative. For information or tickets, contact: email zumbaaway4jay@gmail.com or call Marie Colandrea at 860-759-2854 or Maureen DePierro at 860-635-0252. Follow this link for more information on Zumba Away For Jay.

 

Saturday, April 28th: PEDAL FOR A PURPOSE

Come Pedal for a Purpose at the New Britain YMCA. The Y will be holding 45 minute spinning classes to raise money for the CT Breast Health Initiative. The first class starts at 7:30am and the last class starts at 4:30 pm. Classes are $25 each and 100% of the proceeds go to CTBHI. For more information or to register for classes, call the YMCA at 860-229-3787 or print out this registration form.

Rock Cats’ Pink in the Park Night

Local on April 2nd, 2012 No Comments

Join the CT Breast Health Initiative, Health Mart and the Rock Cats  for Pink in the Park Night!

Stay for the post-game survivor celebration and pink fireworks display!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Game Time: 6:35pm
Gates Open: 5:05pm

Everyone who registers for the CT RACE IN THE PARK can request a complimentary ticket to Pink in the Park Night on their application. Additional tickets can be purchased for $5.50 each by clicking here or calling the CT BHI office at 860-827-7103.

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Get Your Pink Polka Dot Sunglasses!

Local on April 2nd, 2012 No Comments

Get your pink polka dot sunglasses for Race Day!

$5 per pair

Post a picture of yourself and your family and friends wearing your sunglasses at the RACE on our Facebook page.
The photo with the most “likes” by June 1st wins a prize!

Register for the 2012 CT RACE IN THE PARK.

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Build a Team for the 2012 CT RACE IN THE PARK

Local on March 14th, 2012 No Comments

It’s time to build your team for the 2012 CT RACE IN THE PARK!

Visit our Team Information page for all the information you’ll need to create your team!

What are Teams? Teams are groups of 10 or more people who join together to show their support for a survivor, a loved one and the community!

Who Can Be on a Team? — Families, friends, colleagues, school groups, ski clubs, church groups, sports teams, police departments, fire departments, scout troops, running clubs, etc.

Team Members can choose to participate in different events – running, walking, Kids’ Challenge.

Any Team Captain who creates a team of 10 or more members will receive a Team Captain hat!

An Award will be presented to the largest team!

Sign up now!

Start your team now and get everyone together for a memorable day in the park!

 

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Come Join the 2012 Survivor Brunch!

Local, NewsTicker on March 11th, 2012 No Comments

Come join us for some fun at this year’s Survivor Brunch!  All registered survivors are welcome to attend.  Last year we had a lively good time with speakers, fantastic food, delectable cupcakes, raffle prizes, and a DJ to keep everyone’s toes tapping! So join us again this year when our guest of honor will be Rebecca Lobo.  With her there, we are sure to have a “ball”!

 

 

 

St. Paul Senior Learns True Meaning Of Team As He Mourns His Mother

Local on March 1st, 2012 No Comments
By TOM YANTZ, tyantz@courant.com The Hartford CourantMarch 1, 2012 

NEW BRITAIN ——

Justin Gonzalez sat in the bleachers with his St. Paul teammates and watched the junior varsity game Feb. 1 at Thomaston High School. Soon they’d go to their locker room to dress for the varsity game.

St. Paul coach Steve Phelps walked toward Justin and beckoned with his right hand.

“We all believe as coaches we’re prepared for any situation, any crisis, but this one, no,” said Phelps, who paused for a few seconds to compose himself. “How do you muster the strength to tell a 17-year-old young man to get to the hospital immediately to be with his mom?”

Teammates and the coaching staff huddled and said goodbye to Justin. Their prayers accompanied him.

Phelps’ wife, Mary Jo, drove Justin to The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain.

Justin hurried in. His mother, Rosa, was gravely ill with cancer.

“She had a peacefulness when she realized Justin was there,” said Jose, Justin’s dad. “Then in a few minutes she took off her oxygen mask and asked, ‘Where’s Ryan? Where’s Ryan?’ ”

Ryan, Justin’s older brother, was attending a class at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

“He had shut his cellphone off because he was in class, so I couldn’t reach him,” Jose said. “I called his girlfriend Ashley [Dickinson] and told her she had to find Ryan.”

An emotional Dickinson had forgotten where Ryan’s classroom was. So she knocked on many classroom doors before she located him.

Ryan raced to be at his mother’s bedside.

“Ryan got there, and five to ten minutes later she passed,” Jose said. “She had waited until her boys were there.”

Rosa was 48.

The grief of the family and of the St. Paul community has been mollified by a celebration of her life and spirit.

“My football coach, Jude Kelly, told us how to handle adversity,” said Justin, who caught a state-record 72 passes and was on the All-Courant offensive team last season. “When bad stuff happens, you can stay on the ground and cry about it or get up and act like nothing happened.

“My mom died, so how will I handle it? Will I just sit home, be sad, go on the streets, do drugs and drink? I am grieving. But I’m trying to be positive in the situation: Do what’s right and make her proud.”

Ryan, who graduated from St. Paul in 2008 and was its last 1,000-point scorer, nodded and wiped away some tears in the family’s living room. “I couldn’t have said it any better,” he said. “That’s what we’re all doing.”

Before the basketball season, St. Paul dedicated its season to Rosa.

“The courage she had shown over the years, the support for St. Paul and her involvement in cancer runs and research, made it the right decision,” said Phelps, whose wife sewed a patch with Rosa’s name inscribed in pink letters above the heart on each player’s uniform.

Rosa, sitting in a chair in the opposite corner from the St. Paul bench, was a fixture in the Falcons’ home gym to watch Ryan and Justin play over the years. Jose said Rosa, who had a full mastectomy in 1998, sat there to limit her exposure to too many people and possible germs, especially if her white blood count was low.

“Before the Holy Cross game [Jan. 27], she had vomited,” Jose said. “She was determined to go, though. She vomited again at the game, but would not leave.”

Justin, a senior forward who averages 17.6 points and 9.7 rebounds, scored 28 in that game. After the Falcons had won 60-42, he went over and hugged his mother.

“She was weak and her voice was slurred some,” Jose said. “I think she knew that was the last game she’d see. There was no way she wasn’t going to be there.”

This Mom Had Fight

Rosa was an avid participant in events to benefit cancer research and awareness. She took part in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Hartford and the Race In The Park in New Britain. She made and handed out about 400 pink ribbons to honor cancer survivors at the Hartford race in 2010.

And in her final Race In The Park last May, she traveled a memorable road.

“We had all signed up, and in the race there’s a spot where you can continue the short, 1-mile walk or detour to the long, 5K one,” Jose said. “Well, she goes for the long race. We all said, ‘What are you doing?’

“It almost killed her. She had to be helped to make the last steps across the finish line by her friends Linda Campochiaro and Deb Dodenhoff. But Rosa finished. Her motto was ‘Finish what you start.’”

Justin did not want to miss St. Paul’s next game after his mother’s death. The game was scheduled to be at home Feb. 7 against Wolcott. Phelps was thankful to Wolcott for agreeing to postpone the game until Feb. 8 to give Justin and others another day to grieve.

When Justin and his teammates came out for warmups against Wolcott, they wore pink practice shirts. On the right sleeve was the No. 10, Justin’s uniform number; on the left sleeve was No. 33, Ryan’s old St. Paul number. A circle above the heart had the initials R.G. Around it read, “Forever In Our Hearts, Rosa.”

“The student body had ordered more than 200 shirts, and sold them all,” Phelps said. “The proceeds went to cancer research.”

St. Paul (16-5 ), which will play St. Bernard on Monday in the first round of the Class S tournament, will continue to wear its pink practice shirts the rest of this season.

Ryan has a volunteer team that will run in his mother’s honor in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life March 30 at Western Connecticut’s O’Neill Center.

Jose, who works for the Social Security Administration in Torrington, is coordinating a Daffodil Day at work to support the American Cancer Society. The Torrington and Waterbury Social Security offices are having “Donations For Rosa” on Fridays. Proceeds go to Connecticut Breast Health Initiative.

The Gonzalez family, many friends and supporters will participate again in the Race In The Park May 12 at Walnut Hill Park in New Britain.

“I had a dream where Rosa worked in a flower shop, and all of a sudden I couldn’t find her,” Jose said. “I started yelling ‘Rosa, where are you?’ And then she says, ‘I’m right here. Stop looking for me. I’m right next to you.’”

Hearing his dad’s words, Justin took off his glasses and dabbed his eyes.

“Before each game, I look at my uniform and the patch above my heart,” he said.

Ryan said his brother has had some solid games recently. They included 17 points, 10 rebounds, 6 steals and 6 assists in a 71-44 win against Wolcott; 22 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals in a 59-52 victory over Watertown; and 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 78-56 loss to Holy Cross.

“Some of those shots looked like they weren’t going in, but they did,” Ryan said.

Justin smiled and said “Mom had a hand up there and helped them home. She’s right next to me.”

Those looking to support cancer research and to honor Rosa Gonzalez can visit Ctbhi.org.