Montgomery
and The River Region In Focus
By Jennifer Stewart Kornegay Corporate Profiles by Minnie Lamberth
FOREWORD BY MONTGOMERY MAYOR TODD STRANGE AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMISSION CHAIRMAN ELTON DEAN WITH PRATTVILLE MAYOR BILL GILLESPIE, WETUMPKA MAYOR JERRY WILLIS, PIKE ROAD MAYOR GORDON STONE, MILLBROOK MAYOR AL KELLEY AND TALLASSEE MAYOR JOHN HAMMOCK
JOY TO LIFE FOUNDATION #liveheregivehere
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very journey, no matter how epic it becomes, begins with a single step. That’s how things began for the Joy to Life Foundation. After she battled breast cancer and won, Joy Blondheim and her husband Dickie stepped into a new world, creating the Joy to Life Foundation in 2001 as a way to arm women all over Alabama with the resources and information to be survivors too. The non-profit raises funds to ensure that un- and under-insured women in Alabama have access to mammograms and other screenings to detect breast cancer earlier and therefore, greatly increase their chances of survival. It also raises awareness about breast cancer in general and has become a shining symbol of hope and support for people of all ages and walks of life who are facing and fighting breast cancer. Joy shared the Foundation’s impetus. “After I made it through breast cancer, I was just so thankful for my recovery,” she said. “But Dickie and I started to think about how we could help others going through the same thing. As a show of gratitude for my health, we wanted to give back, and the Foundation seemed like the right way to do that.” There are multiple wonderful ways to support Joy to Life and its mission. People can order a pink curbside trashcan to display on their street. They can participate in the annual “Walk of Life,” the Foundation’s initial fundraising effort and still a highly successful 5k walk/run that traverses downtown Montgomery and gives people a chance to honor a breast cancer survivor or remember someone who lost their fight with the disease, all while raising money for JTL. Of course, donations are a major way for people to help, but equally important is people spreading awareness and benefitting the Foundation by “pinking their ride” with JTL’s pink breast cancer car tags, motorcycle tags and boat tags. A large portion of the proceeds from all tag sales go directly to the Foundation. The Blondheims have been blown away by the support they’ve received through the years from corporate sponsors, from individuals and from thousands of volunteers. “It’s inspiring and so gratifying to see others get behind our vision and to help us help so many people around Alabama,” Dickie said. The vehicle through which JTL Foundation provides mammograms is The Alabama Department of Public Health and its Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection and Prevention program (ABCCEDP). Money that the Foundation brings in from sales of its car tags, registration for and sponsorships of the Walk of Life and other avenues are given to ADPH, which in turn “pays” for mammograms for at-risk women who could not afford them. With Foundation funds, ADPH screens at-risk women 40-49, but the Foundation goes even farther, independently paying for screening services for women under the age of 40. “No matter what the age, we want to provide screenings for all at-risk women,” Joy said.
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#LIVEHERE GIVEHERE
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PINK YOUR RIDE.
100% OF PROCEEDS STAY IN ALABAMA.
The Joy to Life Foundation often partners with other groups and organizations in the community to better spread its message and do its good work.
The Foundation was not only the first and largest private provider for the ABCCEDP, it has now provided more than $1.4 million to the Alabama Department of Public Health. In 2001, the ADPH was providing approximately 1,500 mammograms per year. Today, they provide more than 15,000 per year, in large part due to the Foundation’s consistent financial support and its leadership promoting breast cancer awareness. Since 2007 and as of 2018, the Foundation has directly and indirectly been responsible for more than 95,000 mammograms and screenings, meaning more than 1,100 women have been diagnosed and treated because of its work. And since its inception, JTL has raised in excess of $7 million in the fight against breast cancer. The impressive numbers proving JTL’s massive positive impact on our state continue to grow every year, yet the reach of the Foundation goes so far beyond these figures and statistics. Every digit represents a life, someone’s mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend. Joy explained her and Dickie’s motivation in creating Joy to Life. “We wanted to see something positive come from my personal experience with breast cancer, and we saw a need in our community for better access to preventative care,” she said. “Now, almost two decades later, we feel that our impact has been monumental.” And it’s not just the screenings that JTL makes possible that are making a major difference. Dickie believes that the Foundation’s general breast cancer awareness efforts are just as important. “Our pink breast cancer car tag, which is the sixth most popular car tag out of more than 120 different specialty tags in the state, plus our motorcycle tags and boat tags, all act as a moving billboard in every county in Alabama that reminds everyone to pay attention to their breast health and to always get their mammograms,” he said. “It has been a key marketing tool for early detection and saving lives.” 138
JTL is always looking forward and moving ahead, and in 2013, the Foundation took a bold leap with a new venture that both strengthened its mission and furthered its scope: the launch of Joy to Life magazine. In recognition of the powerful role that proactive, healthy lifestyles play in breast cancer prevention and survival, the Foundation decided to create and distribute a health resource in the form of an inspirational and informative magazine and website. “We couldn’t be more proud of this publication,” Joy said. “The goal is simple: to empower and encourage individuals of all genders, ages and walks of life to take care of themselves. Living healthier lives helps prevent not just breast cancer, but all types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and more. Plus it makes us feel better, with more energy to expend on the things and ones we love.” Dickie pointed to the magazine as just one more avenue for spreading JTL’s message, including its goal of keeping breast cancer a top-of-mind issue. “In addition to our efforts like the Walk, our vehicle tags, the trashcans and our billboards, the magazine and its website are great ways to increase breast cancer awareness and education,” he said. While the Blondheims are proud of what the Joy to Life Foundation has accomplished and thrilled that it has provided access to needed resources that save lives, they know they have not done any of it alone. “If there is one thing I want people to know, it is that we always so appreciate their support,” Joy said. “We never take a single sponsorship, donation, Walk sign-up or volunteer for granted. We know we could never have come so far or done our important work without them, and we can never thank our supporters enough. They are Joy to Life!”
joytolife.org
Montgomery’s Court Square Fountain bathed in pink light to celebrate Joy to Life’s annual Walk of Life event. Photo courtesy of Joy to Life Foundation / Nancy Fields
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