Originally scheduled for Saturday, the cloud cover did not allow for more than one plane full of skydivers before the event had to be re-scheduled.
Ray Maynard, the owner of Skydive Long Island, the premier "drop zone" on Long Island, in operation for over 30 years at various locations, contacted me to offer his services. Ray is well aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and that breast cancer on Long Island is of epidemic proportions. His wife, Joanne, is a nurse practitioner in oncology at Stony Brook University Hospital.
Together with on air promotions from radio station, WRCN, the staff at Skydive Long Island solicited prizes for an on sight raffle and encouraged jumpers to participate in Jump for a Cure. Due to the weather date change, WRCN was unable to join us for the event, but all had a fabulous time.
From the moment we arrived, Ray and his crew made us feel welcomed and did everything they could to make the day fun and profitable for the GIFT program. GIFT stands for Giving Inspiration, Fighting Together - an all voluntary group of women, both survivors and advocates, who raise funds and foster awareness through community events, to benefit women cancer patients, through the resources of Stony Brook University Hospital.
From first time jumpers, to Class D licensed professionals, everyone was willing to jump to support our cause. Reactions from new jumpers, who partnered with tandem jump masters, ranged from "incredible" to "I can't wait to do it again". Not one new jumper regretted their decision to jump; most promised to return again.
My friend, and co-advocate, Cynthia, was so inspired by the sight of a kaleidoscope of colors of the parachute canopies, that she herself jumped for the first time. She, too, will jump again.
While we were there we met so many wonderful people, it will be impossible to talk about them all. First, I'll talk about the jumpers. Bobby, who also works at SBUH in the Heart Center in Cardiac Cath, had never met us before. When he found out that Cynthia was jumping, he graciously volunteered to make sure he was on her plane and to take pictures for us. A student at SB in the Physicians' Assistant program also jumped for the cause. One woman celebrated her 40th birthday by jumping. Another elderly gentleman had taken up skydiving last year and his children surprised him with a gift certificate for another jump. A group of college students came down because they heard about the Jump for a Cure on the radio and proudly posed in their Team Stony Brook tee shirts after the event. Each jumper received a pink ribbon pin, a "Team Stony Brook" tee shirt and literature about the GIFT program and GIFT for KIDS, a support/education program for children of breast cancer patients. This program is funded through a grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation/Greater NYC Affiliate. http://www.komennyc.org
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