Cathy Tweedy is a top real estate agent at Saunders & Associates and is also on the board of directors for the Ellen Hermanson Foundation, which is a large charity in the Hamptons that supports breast cancer outreach, early detection, and education. October is breast cancer awareness month and after speaking with her, it is amazing to learn how much good the Ellen Hermanson Foundation does for so many people.
What is breast cancer awareness month?
Cathy: It aims to encourage people to stay up to date with their mammograms. Early detection of breast cancer is key. The earlier you discover it the more likely you are to survive.
How did you get involved with the Ellen Hermanson Foundation?
Cathy: I literally answered an advertisement in Dan’s Papers. I was looking to get involved in something within the community and felt that their mission would really make a difference for real people on the East End. I understood back then the importance of early detection and being educated on the importance of getting a mammogram. That was over 20 years ago and today I’m proud to say I’m a board member.
What are some amazing things this organization has accomplished?
Cathy: We actually funded the state-of-the-art breast center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital.
That’s amazing!
Cathy: Yes, it really is, and we continue to raise money so that we keep that breast center state of the art. We also support Ellen’s Well, which is a program that provides psychosocial support for breast cancer survivors. Having breast cancer and then recovering is extremely traumatic. No patient is ever turned away at the breast center in Southampton Hospital because of a lack of insurance or inability to pay.
How can people donate?
Cathy: The best and easiest way is to go to our website, ellenhermanson.org – You can also get details about some of the events that we do every year. You can donate right on the home page and I encourage everyone reading this to do that! You can also see there what your money goes towards, it really does help a lot of people.
We checked the site: This is what your gift can do:
-$50 provides transportation to a treatment or support group
-$120 funds a mammogram for an uninsured woman
-$500 funds emergency grants for breast cancer patients to pay for medical expenses
-$1,000 or more helps fund advanced diagnostic systems
Are you doing any events this winter?
Cathy: Most likely we will be doing a winter event, but it hasn’t been finalized. When the date is set we let the entire community know, including all of the media outlets and social media outlets. During the winter we typically have some sort of dinner or dance event that is tons of fun, I will keep Hamptons.com posted on this!
