Passionate About Pink

Lorna Jean Hagstrom is Inviting Everyone in Town to Embrace Her Favorite Color for the Month of October

Lorna Jean Hagstrom is wearing her signature pink and new favorite color for the promotion of AdventHealth DeLand Foundation breast cancer awareness. Although she is not a survivor herself, she has witnessed many who have battled the disease and some who have lost their fight. Her goal is to continue to fight for and alongside of those familiar with the cancer war.

Her fight is personal, because she is leading AdventHealth DeLand Foundation’s annual Pink on Parade philanthropic events. She is the chairperson of AdventHealth DeLand Foundation and has served in this role for the last 20 years. Ms. Hagstrom is passionate about the Foundation’s impact on our community. Her focus is promoting opportunities for West Volusians to have their “healthiest life possible.” community hospital continues to provide the “A” rated healthcare it’s track record has documented over the last 50 years.

“We really have an excellent hospital that I’m proud to not only support but to serve on both the AdventHealth Foundation Board but also the AdventHealth Hospital Board,” said Hagstrom.

Ms. Hagstrom is very active in the DeLand community and has lived here for more than 60 years. She has raised her two children, seven grandchildren and now five great-grandchildren here. She has served on multiple not-for-profit organizational boards and has volunteered in various capacities throughout the last six decades.

In 2020, she was named Junior Service League’s “Woman of the Year” for her dedication to our community over the last 50 years. She is the past Chairwoman of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Board for many years and proudly sent all seven of her grandchildren to the school. However, her deepest passion is healthcare and wellness. “I believe that everyone should have access to quality healthcare, and it is our responsibility to make sure we have a hospital that is thriving so that we have the latest equipment, the best physicians and the most dedicated hospital staff,” said Hagstrom.

AdventHealth DeLand Foundation (AHD Foundation) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to generating monetary support for hospital initiatives and programs. AHD Foundation exists to support the mission of our hospital by developing a lasting and meaningful partnership with our community. The Foundation is dedicated to creating awareness of philanthropic opportunities that will help provide AdventHealth DeLand Hospital the means to grow in its commitment to provide excellent, faith-based healthcare to our community. AHD Foundation’s vision “I believe that everyone is to provide a linkage between the healthcare should have access to quality needs of our community healthcare, and it is our and AdventHealth DeLand hospital through the efforts responsibility to make sure of our Foundation. The we have a hospital that is organization has been in existence for the last thriving so that we have twenty years. Some of the latest equipment, the best the projects that the AHD Foundation has focused physicians and the most dedicated around is the construction hospital staff,” said Hagstrom. of the AdventHealth DeLand Cancer Institute and the hospital’s simulation lab dedicated to training AdventHealth DeLand clinical team members.

Ms. Hagstrom is adamant that AdventHealth DeLand has all three and she is steadfast on ensuring that our The AHD Foundation has also supported educational programs, equipment purchase such as the new Savi Scout imaging equipment at Victoria Medical Park, and even the purchase of the hospital’s lobby piano that provides musical comfort to visitors.

The organization is proud of its community partnerships with local companies like DeLand Kia where the car dealership donates a percentage of its sales during the month of October to AdventHealth DeLand Foundation breast cancer programs. For the past six years, the dealership had donated over $130,000 to our local programs assisting the hospital to provide cancer related care to those in need.

“We are so honored to work with DeLand Kia and their dedication to our community surpasses anything I have ever seen,” said Hagstrom. They are kind, communityfocused and dedicated to helping our community take care of those battling cancer.”

During the month of October, AdventHealth DeLand Foundation will host breast cancer awareness with its Ninth Annual Pink on Parade 5K. This year’s event is a virtual 5K. Fundraising efforts will benefit hospital programs and initiatives such as early detection screenings, free mammograms for the underserved, and survivorship educational programs to support those impacted by breast cancer.

This year’s goal is to raise $75,000 for our local AdventHealth DeLand hospital benefiting cancer related programs including free mammograms for

What drives Ms. Hagstrom is her desire to improve the community of DeLand. “I want to make sure my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are living in a community that is healthy and safe. Our hospital is the epicenter of our community’s well-being,” said Hagstrom.

This year’s AdventHealth Pink on Parade invites the community to dine and shop their way through Downtown DeLand during their virtual 5k. Registration is available at pinkonparade.com. Event funds benefit AdventHealth DeLand Foundation and stay local.

Those who wish to participate in the virtual 5K on their own, can walk, run, skate, bike, or swim their way through their 5K in their local neighborhoods, backyards, or gyms. Those who want to create a team can either shop and dine in Downtown DeLand or they can map out their own 5K path at their favorite park or beach.

It is not where you participate or who you participate with but how you participate that matters to Hagstrom. “We need everyone to sign up and contribute. Every dollar counts and every dollar goes to the cause,” said Hagstrom. “So, we need to pass the word and encourage others to participate.” The only requirement is for Pink on Parade participants to sign-up online and get their teams together. “We try to keep everything very simple. Last year we had people of all ages participate and this year Stetson University students are joining in the effort to help our cancer patients,” said Hagstrom.

Although AdventHealth DeLand is hosting their virtual 5K for the entire month of October, Hagstrom encourages everyone to sign up as soon as possible. The money stays in our local community and participants will receive a tax benefit for their donation.

“We need to reach our goal for our patients as quickly as possible. Walk in honor of someone or walk in celebration of someone you love…but walk. It is critical that we all work together to care for those in our community battling cancer. No one should feel alone in this battle,” said Hagstrom.

For those wanting more information about Pink on Parade, please contact Robin Roper, Director of AdventHealth DeLand Foundation via email at robin.roper@adventHealth.com or by phone at 386-943-3137.