Police Department issues breast cancer challenge to all first responders | News, Sports, Work

Detective Sergeant Scott Meek and Detective Chase Askons of the St. Clair Police Department present a check to Dr. Rasheed Abdu and Gina Marinelli, Senior Health Officer at Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley, for the Joanie Program at the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center ( JACBCC). (Photo by Christy R. Garabrandt)

St. CITY OF CLAIR — Police Chief Brian McKenzie and all officers of the City of St. Clair Police Department are officially calling on all law enforcement, fire departments, EMS departments and any other first responders in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties to meet or exceed their donations to the Center for Comprehensive Joanie Abdu Breast Care (JACBCC).

The summons was issued Friday morning after a check for $300 was presented by Detective Sgt. Scott Meek and Detective Chase Askunes to Dr. Rasheed Abd and Gina Marinelli, Senior Gift Officer, Mercy Health Foundation of Mahoning Valley, who accepted on behalf of JACBCC.

All departments interested in participating in the competition can contact Marinelli at gina–[email protected] or by phone at 330-729-1187.

This is the first time the department has organized such a challenge, so McKenzie hopes to raise as much money as possible with the help of other participants. All funds raised will go directly to JACBCC for the Joanie’s Promise program.

Joanie’s Promise is a program that grew out of a promise Abdu made to his late wife before she died of an aggressive form of breast cancer in 1993.

Abdu said he wanted to thank the department for its donation to the program, which is used to help women who don’t have the means to get the care they need.

He noted that when Joanie was diagnosed, they had to travel to Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Youngstown for treatment, but women who couldn’t afford the trip often died of breast cancer because of the lack of medical care they needed.

“Before Joanie died, I promised her that one day we would have a comprehensive breast care center in Youngstown that would take care of all women regardless of their race, color, ethnicity or economic status, without them having to run to any other city or anywhere. and they’re going to get the best care they can get anywhere in the country.” Abdu said.

He went on to say that they kept that promise because of people like the officers who donated, and that JACBCC is now considered one of the best in the United States, and that the center’s mission is to ensure that no woman ever dies of breast cancer. because she is poor.

“We are very happy and very grateful for the community’s help and your help today is an example of kindness, generosity and compassion for all women in our communities and we are grateful to you.” Abdu said.

When asked if he knew how many women the center had helped, Abdu said “thousands”.

Marinelli explained that Joanie’s Promise provides mammograms for low-income or uninsured women, provides community educators who travel to rural or urban areas to educate women about breast cancer, and provides transportation to and from the facility so women can receive the treatment they need and much more. .

Abdu said the program also has a mammovan for women who do not have transport. A $1 million minibus which takes mammograms to community centres, schools, churches and libraries has made its first trip to East Liverpool.

He reiterated that the goal of the program is to ensure that no woman dies of breast cancer due to economic reasons.

He told the officers “We cannot allow this to happen and this is what you are doing, helping to put an end to it. It takes a village to do a good deed, and now you are part of the village.”

In addition to raising funds for Joanie’s Promise and encouraging other first responders to do the same, the St. Clair Police Department is showing its support for breast cancer by wearing pink badges throughout October and selling breast cancer awareness. – shirts with an inscription “No one fights alone” to raise money for a local woman with breast cancer.

T-shirts are sold for $20 and can be purchased at the St. Clair Police Department. All proceeds from the T-shirts will go to breast cancer patients.

Askunes said the police department is doing this because they have people in their families who have dealt with breast cancer and people near and dear to them in the community who are dealing with it.

Askunes, because there are people here who have dealt with breast cancer in their families, and there are always people in the community who are near and dear to us, so we do a shirt sale, they get all the proceeds from it.

McKenzie said the department does its part if someone in the community is battling breast cancer or cancer in general.

Every October we sell T-shirts, and we give that money away when all the T-shirts are sold,” McKenzie said. He also noted that the department is short on funds this year because they haven’t raised much, and hopes that others will also donate to help people.