CHI Memorial Foundation’s 14th annual Pink! gala, chaired by Dr. Lee and Sharron Jackson and Dan and Amber Norton, raised a net total of $471,000, a record high for the event. "All proceeds stay in our local community benefiting the MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at CHI Memorial," officials said. "The generosity of the sell-out crowd helped bring the total amount raised during 14 years of this annual fundraising gala to more than $4.2 million."
“The Chattanooga community continues to be so generous in their support of this wonderful event,” said Jennifer Nicely, president, CHI Memorial Foundation. “Because of their generosity, we are able to provide access to the most advanced breast cancer technology and treatments available.”
"Pink! proceeds ensure top-notch breast cancer detection and treatment capabilities right here at home," officials sad. "This year, proceeds were used to purchase new equipment our dedicated radiologists use to read mammograms. This equipment has extremely high-resolution allowing the radiologists to see smaller lesions and better interpret 3D mammograms. A portion of the proceeds will also be added to an endowment fund started in 2018, ensuring services provided by the MaryEllen Locher Breast Center will continue well into the future.
"In previous years, funds raised through Pink! helped purchase new equipment, like tomosynthesis, or 3D, mammogram machines, and helped fund CHI Memorial’s two mobile health coaches which travel thousands of miles each year, visiting 24 counties in Eastern Tennessee and five counties in North Georgia. The 40-foot coaches provide the latest in breast cancer screenings to women, many of whom might not otherwise have been able to afford or access screenings. In fiscal year 2018, about 4,400 women received mammogram screenings on the coaches."
Next year’s Pink! gala will be held Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020.