Participants in the breast cancer walk at SkyPark formed a pink ribbon. (Drone photo by David Alan Arnold)

A successful walk in the mountains

On Oct. 2 under the early morning pink skies of the San Bernardino Mountains approximately 250 people from the mountain communities gathered at SkyPark to celebrate and remember loved ones affected by breast cancer.
Soroptimist International of Rim of the World (SIROW) along with sponsors Mountains Community Hospital and SkyPark’s “Making Spirits Bright Foundation” created the free “It’s A Walk in the Mountains” event for breast cancer awareness. The morning event gathered warriors, survivors, friends and families. Pink shirts were worn by Soroptimist members while guests chose to walk on the Meadowland trail or through Santa’s Village.
Bill Johnson, with SkyPark’s mascot Arrow, led a group on the beautiful trails behind the Village. Kringle’s Coffee Shop was open during the 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. hours and a warm cup of coffee was a happy addition for participants.
The walk was in special remembrance of Heidi Gann and Ginnie Mills Kiely. Both mountain women were valiant fighters once their breast cancer was diagnosed.
Beautiful baskets filled with donated gifts from local business members were part of a raffle. The proceeds of the basket raffle were given to the Ginnie Strong Foundation. This nonprofit foundation was the dream of Ginnie Kiely and is now being administered by her family and friends. The Foundation will aid women who are in need of assistance during treatment.
Soroptimist co-chairs Linda Tyer and Jeannie Venturini were honored to be working with our sponsors, Kim McGuire and Abby Savich, from the Mountains Community Hospital Foundation. The Foundation provided water and gift bags to the participants, as well as informational material about women’s health.
Bill and Michelle Johnson along with Stephanie Burrows of SkyPark at Santa’s Village provided the venue, beautiful raffle baskets and were gracious hosts. A special highlight of the day was the gathering of attendees forming a pink bow with a drone picture taken by award-winning cinematographer David Alan Arnold. Many visitors were excited to be a part of this momentous day and part of the pink bow, the now famous symbol of breast cancer.
SIROW will return next year and re-create this special day of awareness and remembrance. Meanwhile, Soroptimist International of the Rim of the World will continue their yearly project of free mammograms during the month of October for women over 40 years of age without insurance coverage. Application forms are in local doctors’ offices and the two MCH Rural Health Clinics (Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs). For more information, contact Jeannie Venturini at (909) 337-7220.