By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Light Up North Reading Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Local resident, business owner, wife, mom, activist and breast cancer survivor Francine Coughlin urges townspeople to go pink this October in honor of all breast cancer patients, past and present.
Francine’s personal favorite is The Ellie Fund, a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides supportive services to breast cancer patients as well as those living with Stage 4 breast cancer.
“During my fight with triple negative breast cancer three years ago I was supported by The Ellie Fund, and I make an effort to connect everyone I can to this organization to get much-needed care and support. They are a group of wonderful, compassionate and actionable humans making a real impact in communities all over the state to help make the process of fighting this disease a little bit easier and making us all feel a little less alone,” Francine told the Transcript.
Part of her initiative is to light up the bandstand on the town common in pink lights during the month of October “in order to represent those in our community whose lives have been touched by the horrible disease,” she said. She hopes this humble display inspires others to light up their own yards, homes and businesses in pink.
According to their website, The Ellie Fund aims to “help ease the stresses of everyday life” by providing patients with “essential support services, allowing the focus to be on family, recovery and healing. Women and men in active breast cancer treatment residing or receiving treatment in Massachusetts, are eligible to receive support” from The Ellie Fund, which further notes: “We do not discriminate on the basis of income, gender, marital status, age, ethnicity or religion.” For more information go to: elliefund.org/our-services.
Francine adds, “If anyone would like to donate to The Ellie Fund or collect funds on their behalf please visit: https://www.classy.org/give/653105/#!/donation/
checkout.”