North Fork Breast Health Coalition Raises $141K at Annual Pink Pearl Gala

 North Fork Breast Health Coalition Raises $141K at Annual Pink Pearl Gala
 
Riverhead – The North Fork Breast Health Coalition celebrated breast-cancer survivors and thrivers as well as providers and caregivers at the NFBHC Annual Pink Pearl Gala, which raised almost $120,000 for local breast-cancer patients. The cocktail reception, seated dinner, raffles and dancing to music by DJ Phil of Make Some Noise was held on Friday, April 11. About 350 guests attended the event at the Sea Star Ballroom, Hyatt Place Long Island, Riverhead.
 
As is tradition, the Pink Pearl Gala included a gift basket raffle, which could be previewed and raffle tickets purchased beforehand at the coalition office, 185 Old Country Road, as well as during the gala. Individuals who could not attend the gala could still participate in the raffle, which raised an additional $21,000 to benefit the NFBHC Keri Lynn Stromski Stage IV Breast Cancer Research and Support Fund. 
 
During this year’s gala, the North Fork Breast Health Coalition honored The Simmons Point Group of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC with the NFBHC Corporate Leadership Award. With an office in Riverhead, the company is an experienced group of financial professionals at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC—one of the nation’s most prestigious investment firms.
 
“In 2018, NFBHC Vice President Bernadette Tuthill introduced us to the organization,” said Gary T. Lukachinski, Executive Vice President/Wealth Management, Simmons Point. “As we learned about all the extraordinary things NFBHC does for those facing daily challenges in their lives because of breast cancer, we felt that we needed to support this cause.”
 
Lisa and Anthony Sannino were also honored at the gala with the NFBHC Community Spirit Award. They were recognized for their commitment to supporting the East End breast cancer community, especially for generously hosting the NFBHC Stage IV summer fundraiser for the last three years at Sannino Vineyard, Cutchogue. 
 
The three Pink Pearl Underwriters of this year’s gala were The Simmons Point Group of 
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, NFBHC Director-at-Large Connie “Losing is Not an Option” Hayes, and the Mattituck Lions Club. This is the fifth consecutive year that Simmons Point has sponsored the gala at the top level. This year, both Hayes and the Mattituck Lions Club moved up to the top level after last year’s second-level Pink Pearl sponsorships. 
 
The North Fork Breast Health Coalition is a nonprofit organization that supports local breast-cancer patients with programs such as Helping Hand grants. Proceeds from this event allows the group to continue to provide free services such as gentle yoga, reflexology, massage therapy and “Strength for Life” exercise classes to breast-cancer patients and survivors. They can also receive free hats, scarves, wigs and protheses from the Rita Duva Boutique at the organization’s office.
 
Ann Cotten-DeGrasse and her late husband, Antonio, founded NFBHC in 1998 because they saw a great need for such an organization on the North Fork, where there is an especially high rate of diagnosis of the disease. A retired teacher, Ann has also served as president of the Riverhead School Board. The gala was named for the late Pearl Philindas, a past president of the coalition.
 
Founded in 2021, the NFBHC Stage IV Fund provides financial support to oncologists who are treating local patients and are actively doing cutting-edge research on extending and saving lives of Stage IV breast cancer patients. The fund also supports Stage IV thrivers who often have unexpected costs and expenses associated with their treatment. 
 
For more information on NFBHC or the organization’s Stage IV Fund, call 631-208-8889 or see www.northforkbreasthealth.org.
 
 
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