By SAMANTHA HEARN
To help breast cancer survivors, singer Trisha Yearwood will be the featured celebrity host at this year’s Brentwood Maryland Farms YMCA Heroes in Heels Fashion Show.
The fashion show is the main annual fundraiser for the YMCA’s After Breast Cancer program, helping survivors and women with breast cancer adjust to their new normal.
“Just as medical services such as mammograms and biopsies help to ensure their medical health, our program provides services such as small group counseling and Pink Ribbon certified personal trainers to ensure their holistic health is restored as well,” Maryland Farms YMCA Development Coordinator Ashlinn Dowling said.
Held at The Factory at Franklin, the Heroes in Heels Fashion Show is a platform to lift up survivors’ stories and educate the community on the work the ABC program is doing. More than 500 people attended last year, and they are priming for an increase this year with Yearwood’s hosting.
“This cause is near to my heart because I lost my mom to breast cancer,” Yearwood said in a statement. “These women are an inspiration and I’m so excited to be a part of the event.”
After losing her mother to breast cancer in 2011, Yearwood recorded “PrizeFighter,” the title track of her 2014 album. The song has become an anthem to women fighting the life-threatening disease.
“Women with breast cancer must fight hard each and every day,” Yearwood said. “It’s not just in October when we all wear pink that they are fighting. I hope this song reminds them that they always have our support and their fighting spirit will see them through.”
The fashion show will feature 30 breast cancer survivors as models, with Gary Force Acura as a sponsor. The models will wear the latest fall fashions from Dillard’s.
“This event helps us increase awareness of and support for vital Y programs that help so many people in our community,” Maryland Farms YMCA Director Judi Schroer said. “ABC is a part of those efforts and helps survivors navigate their recovery journey following cancer treatment.”
Nearly one in eight women face a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Earlier detection and improved therapies have increased survival rate, but post-treatment support can still be a challenge for many women. With the Y’s ABC program, local survivors get the specialized wellness guidance they need on their road to recovery, and many of them will take to the runway at this event to celebrate survival.
The ABC program has been at the Maryland Farms YMCA for the past eight years, and in that time nearly 1,000 women in Williamson and Davidson counties have taken part. In 2016, 57 women in eight groups have gone through the program, with more groups scheduled to start during the remainder of the year. The program is also offered in Bellevue, Clarksville, Green Hills, Robertson County and Sumner County YMCAs, as well as in the Murfreesboro area in partnership with St. Thomas Rutherford.
The ABC program lasts for 16 weeks. Participants receive lymphedema education and screening, exercise in a group among other survivors with a Pink Ribbon-certified personal trainer, meetings with a registered dietician, attend group counseling and have free use of the YMCA facilities and group fitness classes. The survivors do not have to pay, with the program possible only through generous donors and events like Heroes in Heels.
The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4, in Liberty Hall at the Factory at Franklin, located at 230 Franklin Road. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a cocktail hour, with the fashion show beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available for $60 in advance or $70 at the door on the day of the event. A reserved table can be purchased for $750, which is the cost to send one woman through the entirety of the ABC program. Half tables for four are also available for advance purchase for $375. All proceeds will go directly to the ABC program.
To register for the event, click here.
Samantha Hearn reports for Home Page Media Group. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
