Underwood Jewelers donated $18,300 to Pink Ribbon Jax during a recent check presentation.
The donation was raised as part of a three-day designer trunk show and cocktail party hosted by the jeweler in November 2021. The amount was a combined total raised between both of Underwood’s locations in Ponte Vedra Beach and San Marco in Jacksonville.
During the event, 10% of the trunk show’s proceeds went toward the donation, which will help Pink Ribbon Jax achieve its continued goal of making access to mammograms more available for women in the area.
According to Pink Ribbon Jax chair Marica Pendjer, having community partners such as Underwood’s is a huge help in both the promotion and implementation of the nonprofit’s mission.
“Underwood Jewelers is a founding partner of Pink Ribbon Jax,” Pendjer said. “I believe this is our 16th year of collaborating to impact and save lives through the patient services and cutting-edge research we fund.”
Pink Ribbon Jax’s goal for 2022 is to pay for 1,650 mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women and men in Northeast Florida.
“Local grassroots collaborations are invaluable and essential,” Pendjer said. “Local partnerships help raise funds, build awareness and drive action. Our local partners live and work in the community we service. They see and know the results and people being helped firsthand.”
Another important partnership Pink Ribbon Jax has is with Baptist Health and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, which are the two hospitals that provide free mammograms in conjunction with the Pink Ribbon Jax program.
According to Pendjer, the financial need exists because a mammogram costs $300 on average but it is a valuable tool in detecting and helping prevent breast cancer.
“Underwood’s support, both cash and in-kind, will fund 85 mammograms for those who could not otherwise afford this vital screening,” Pendjer said. “Each of our sponsors and donors are part of those successes. They witness our responsible stewardship of the resources, and they entrust to us.”
