The Donna Foundation is a non-profit breast cancer awareness organization based out of Jacksonville that was founded in 2003 by Donna Deegan. After Deegan was diagnosed with breast cancer herself in 1999, she was inspired to start the Donna Foundation to assist individuals who shared her journey.
Throughout her cancer journey, Deegan began to discover the need for assistance, awareness and education for those living with breast cancer and for the community at large. It was then that the Donna Foundation was born.
The Donna Foundation has helped 14,000 families and has dispersed $3.8 million in financial services (medical debt relief) to the families of breast cancer patients, and an additional $3.3 million in funds for reaearch. Although the Donna Foundation has many avenues of assistance and fundraising, it is best known for its annual races, including its 5K and marathon. Although due to COVID-19 the Donna Foundation has been forced to strategically reorganize their upcoming events through Spring 2021, it is proceeding with its races — with a virtual twist.
“It was important for us to make this decision for the safety of our community,” said Amanda Napolitano, executive director of the Donna Foundation of their decision to take on their events virtual-style. Rather than gathering together in a large group, race participants will be able to run wherever they are. “We will still be tracking times and distributing awards,” Napolitano stated, explaining that they will also have a virtual tribute wall, in-run audio technology for runners to listen to words of encouragement from their loved ones, a virtual opening ceremony and more.
The virtual 5K will take place Oct. 24-25, and it is not too late to sign up. The virtual marathon will be held Feb. 12-14 2021. Although the race experience has changed, the Donna Foundation encourages individuals to sign up for the races and support the organization. With COVID-19, the Donna Foundation’s need for support has grown, with a 126% year-over-year increase, which is the exponnential growth in demand for the DONNA Careline, looking at the month of August (compared to 2019-2020).
“We expect to see a rise in breast cancer diagnoses after the COVID-19,” Napolitano said, explaining that due to social distancing and infection fears many individuals have forgone their annual cancer screenings and may not catch their disease in the early stages. “Cancer diagnoses have decreased by 40% since the start of the pandemic. We are encouraging individuals to continue safely visiting their doctors for cancer screenings,” Napolitano said, going on to state that many people are in financial despair due to changes brought on by COVID-19 and that now is a crucial time to support charitable organizations.
To register for the virtual 5K experience, simply go to www.thedonnafoundation.org and put on your running shoes!
