Pink Pearl Gala Raises $141K for Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors

The North Fork Breast Health Coalition celebrated breast-cancer survivors and thrivers as well as providers and caregivers at the NFBHC Annual Pink Pearl Gala. The cocktail reception, seated dinner, raffles and dancing to music by DJ Phil of Make Some Noise was held at the Sea Star Ballroom on Friday, April 12. Two weeks before, the wear-pink, -green, and/or -teal event (colors of the tricolor ribbon for metastatic breast cancer) was already sold out.

“This year’s Pink Pearl Gala was truly one for the books. We had nearly 400 attendees and raised $141K overall, including $25K from the raffles for our Stage IV Fund! We are so grateful to our volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen,” said NFBHC President Melanie McEvoy Zuhoski, who co-chaired the gala with Director-at-Large Colleen Pennica.

During the evening, the North Fork Breast Health Coalition honored three local businesswomen with Community Spirit Awards: Charlene Bugdin of Blue Sage Day Spa, Mattituck; Dr. Michelle Iona of Healing Points Acupuncture & Wellness Center, Riverhead; and Denise Zuhoski of Making Waves Hair Studio, Cutchogue. They were recognized for their commitment to serving and supporting the East End breast cancer community.

The Pink Pearl Underwriter of this year’s gala was again the Simmons Point Group of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC. This is the fourth consecutive year that the company has sponsored the gala at the top level. With an office in Riverhead, the Simmons Point Group is an experienced group of financial professionals at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC—one of the nation’s most prestigious investment firms.

NFBHC Director-at-Large Connie “Losing is Not an Option” Hayes and the Mattituck Lions Club also demonstrated their generosity. Both participated as Pink Pearl Sponsors, the second level of sponsorship. Pay What You Can Legal, LLC, agreed to be a Pearl Sponsor, the third of the top three levels of sponsorship.

As is tradition, the Pink Pearl Gala included a gift basket raffle, which was chaired by NFBHC Director-at-Large BeeJay Ferucci. The baskets could be previewed, and raffle tickets purchased beforehand, at the coalition’s Riverhead office from April 5-7. Many individuals who were not able to attend the gala still participated in the raffle, which benefitted the NFBHC Keri Lynn Stromski Stage IV Breast Cancer Research and Support Fund. The raffle alone raised $25,000.

Founded in 2021, the Stage IV Fund provides financial support to oncologists who are treating local patients and are actively doing cutting-edge research on extending and saving lives of Stage IV breast cancer patients. The fund also supports Stage IV thrivers who often have unexpected costs and expenses associated with their treatment.

The North Fork Breast Health Coalition is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that supports local breast-cancer patients with programs such as Helping Hand grants. Proceeds from this event allows the group to continue to provide free services such as gentle yoga, reflexology, massage therapy, tai chi/qigong mediation and “Strength for Life” exercise classes to breast-cancer patients and survivors. They can also receive free hats, scarves, wigs and protheses from the Rita Duva Boutique at the organization’s office.

Ann Cotten-DeGrasse and her late husband, Antonio, founded NFBHC in 1998 because they saw a great need for such an organization on the North Fork, where there is an especially high rate of diagnosis of the disease. A retired teacher, Ann has also served as president of the Riverhead School Board. The gala was named for the late Pearl Philindas, a past president of the coalition.

For information about future NFBHC events, see www.northforkbreasthealth.org. The next scheduled event is “A Night at the Vineyards” on August 6 at Sannino Vineyard, Cutchogue. You can also e-mail [email protected] or leave a message at the coalition office in Riverhead at 631-208-8889.

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