Mush for a Cure

[bwca]

Mush for a Cure
Voyageur Outfitters will be hosting the 2nd Annual Mush for a Cure this March 15th, 2008. Dogsled teams will be mushing to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. It will be a great spectator event with a Sourdough Shotgun start. We'd love to see you up here!

http://bwca.cc/areas/gunflinttrail/voyageur/winter.htm
http://canoeit.com/specials.cfm?bwca.cc

[PaddlerJimmy]

I wish I could make it up for this race. I hope some people can post some pictures from it after all is said and done.

[bwca]

Thank you to everyone involved in Mush for a Cure 2008. Without the help of the many volunteers this event would not have been possible. We appreciate all of the donations, hospitality and cooperation received during this great event. A big thank you to the mushers and their handlers for being a part of Mush for a Cure. With the pledges received by mushers and various other donations the event will have raised over $13,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Congratulations Everyone, you did an awesome job and we hope to see you in 2009!

If you would like to donate, a check made out to “Mush For a Cure” and mailed to:
Mush For a Cure
PO Box 282
Grand Marais, MN 55604

[bwca]

I just got an email from Mary Black. They will be having the Mush for a Cure again this Winter: March 14th, 2009.

[bwca]

Mary Manning of Doodledog Kennels in Hovland, encourages her dogs before the start of the third Mush for a Cure, held Saturday, March 14. Manning was one of 34 mushers who took part in the fundraiser for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. See more of the action on page .
Think pink! Photo by Rhonda Silence.

Meaningful chaos at Mush for a Cure
Rhonda Silence, Cook County Star, 3/2009
I thrive on chaos, so watching the “sourdough” start of the Mush for a Cure last Saturday was just my kind of event. It wasn’t that it was unorganized; in fact, everything seemed to be operating as planned. It’s just that the mass start is such a contrast from the intense, tightly structured John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. I have to say, for a spectator, the Mush for a Cure is a lot more fun. And a lot more meaningful.
There were some tense moments—twice dogs escaped from their harnesses and took off down the ice before the race started. Snowmobiles and fleet footed handlers quickly corralled them and brought them back.
The racket of excited dogs straining to run nearly drowned out the National Anthem and the shotgun fired to signify the start of the race. Then there was a lot of laughter as mushers struggled out of sleeping bags and hooked up their teams. The barking quieted as pink-clad participants and brightly decorated sleds glided across the lake.
After the teams were all gone, the audience moved down the Gunflint Trail in a caravan of vehicles filled with folks in pink. My friends and I joined a group on a hill overlooking the snowmobile trail, enjoying the sun as we waited. We didn’t have to wait long to see the cheerful mushers come out of the woods, across the bridge, swooshing around the corner and back into the woods.
We continued on to Trail Center, pink party headquarters, to see some of the racers finish and to enjoy visiting with friends and neighbors. It was a wonderful, laid-back event that managed to take the serious health crisis of breast cancer and turn it into an amazing celebration of life.
Most of the mushers involved in the Mush for a Cure have lost a loved one to breast cancer. A lot of the people at the Mush for a Cure were there to honor the memory of Shelly Stetson, the 41-year-old musher, mother, and wife, who died in January 2009. Some of the folks at the event wore scarves or caps to disguise loss of hair because of chemotherapy.
Whatever the story; however sad the people at Mush for a Cure may have been, there was an unspoken understanding. The Mush for a Cure is not a time for sorrow, but defiance. It is a day to don pink and to celebrate the strides that have been made in the treatment of breast cancer. It is a day to buoy those who are living with the disease. And it is a day to celebrate the time we have together.
Granted, the celebration got a little silly. There are some outrageous pink costumes and some slightly tacky t-shirts (such as Save Second Base!) that may offend some sensitive souls. However, I lost my grandmother to breast cancer when I was 13-years-old. So I think that anything that stresses the importance of self-care and which helps raise money for research to find a cure is worthwhile. Because I would have liked to have had a little more time to celebrate life with my grandma.

[Mary Black]

Here are a couple photos from the 2009 Mush For a Cure where teams raised over $23,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Amazing...thank you to everyone who sponsored, participated, volunteered, donated prizes, and organized the event. In three short events, mushers have raised $40,000 and we only hope to contiune to grow.

Go to http://www.MushForACure.com for more photos and information on our event.

Mark Black, Bob and Jaret Baker and Roxy Black waiting for the last couple of teams to finish

"Trail Boss" Bob Baker of Gunflint Pines Resort (or should we say Roberta)

[bwca]

Mush for a Cure Raises $30,000.00 Without Mushing
(Gunflint Trail, MN) Like a huge pink wave mushers arrived for the 4th Annual Mush for a Cure Sled Dog Fundraiser on the Gunflint Trail Saturday, March 13th. Spirits were high and participants were ready for the day’s challenge which did not include mushing due to the lack of snow. That small detail did not bother the mushers and through their efforts they raised over $30,000 of which a minimum of $28,000 will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Event organizer Mary Black said, “We were a little conservative in our goal for this year with the state of the economy, but our mushers came through once again” Coming through in a big way was thirteen year old Jessica Berg-Collman from Grand Marais, MN who raised $10,000 of pledges all on her own.
Almost $5000 was raised during The Bald, The Brave and The Beautiful at the Pink Prom Pasta Party on Friday night at Trail Center. Four community members walked away that evening with bald heads but were commended for their bravery and looked beautiful as bald men. Couples dressed in their best pink outfits paraded during the Grand March and a King and Queen were crowned.
The money hasn’t even been deposited for this year’s event yet organizers are already planning for the 5th Annual Mush for a Cure. Snow or no snow it’s a great event for an even greater cause so mark your calendars for March 11-12th, 2011 and think pink.

[BWCA Blog Lady]

The 5th Annual Mush for a Cure Sled Dog Fundraiser on the Gunflint Trail is scheduled for March 11-12th, 2011. The Pink Masquerade Ball and Cut for a Cure will happen on Friday night with live music by the Trail's End Band at Trail Center Bar and Restaurant. The Mushing event will begin in front of Gunflint Pines at noon on Saturday and end at Trail Center. Plenty of activities will be happening at Trail Center on Saturday so be sure to come join the fun! Don't forget to wear your pink!

http://www.mushforacure.com

[BWCA Blog Lady]

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The mushers and skijorers outdid themselves again. They raised over $28,000 in pledges for the 5th Annual Mush for a Cure. This group of incredible people raised an incredible amount of money especially for this economy. If you know any of this year's participants then be sure to congratulate them on a job well done.

And how about the Bald, Brave and Beautiful Contest? Jason Manning of KQDS in Duluth, Minnesota went home bald as did Bob Carter from Grand Marais's own WTIP and Mark Black of Black Magic Kennels. We had a few other folks offer up some of their hair for the cause not only on Saturday night but also on Friday night when Andrea from Studio 61 Hair Design gave haircuts for a cure. The "Mane" attraction brought in an additional $3,000 for the cause helping us reach the goal of donating $30,000 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation this year.

This year's $30,000 donation will bring Mush for a Cure's total donations to the National Breast Cancer Foundation to $100,000 in just five years. WOW. That's all I can say when I think about all of the participants, volunteers, sponsors, donors, spectators and dogs that have had a part in the success of this event. Everyone should be very proud of their hard work over the years. They say it takes a village to raise a child and it takes much more than a village to raise $100,000.

A huge thank you goes out to all supporters of Mush for a Cure!

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[BWCA Blog Lady]

[PaddlerJimmy]

Lawsuits for the cure?
Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune Updated: May 31, 2011 - 11:08 PM

Sue Prom helped organize the "Mush for a Cure" sled-dog race to raise money to fight breast cancer five years ago, a fundraiser that was humming along nicely until it received a letter from an attorney for the organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Komen, best known for its pink ribbons, Mother's Day runs and other mega-fundraisers for breast cancer research, asked Prom to stop using the phrase "for a cure" and to halt its request for a Mush for a Cure trademark.

"It was like, 'You've got to be kidding,'" said Prom, whose all-volunteer fundraiser outside Grand Marais, Minn., raised about $30,000 last year.

"People are donating money to this organization [Komen] to fight cancer -- not to fight another organization fighting breast cancer."

The dispute points to the growing concerns over branding and trademark issues among nonprofits. Once reserved for squabbles between for-profit organizations, the pink ribbons, logos and catchy phrases linked to charities are being fiercely protected as competition for donations grows, especially on the Internet.

"It used to be that there were local groups with the same name, but they didn't know about each other," said Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. "Now it's a lot easier to research. And as online donations become more important, you want a single identity online."

Komen has asked dozens of groups to cease using "for the cure" or "for a cure," according to national media reports. Komen spokeswoman Andrea Rader would not confirm the figure, but said Komen monitors U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filings to protect its brand and donors.

"There is a potential for donors to make assumptions," Rader said. "We want them to be confident that if they want to donate to Susan G. Komen, that their money is going to Susan G. Komen."

Komen dropped its objection to the dog-sledding fundraiser earlier this year, Prom said, shortly after NBC News highlighted the plight of Mush for a Cure and a New York group called Kites for a Cure. In April, a certificate arrived in her mailbox giving her the trademark for "Mush for a Cure."

[BWCA Blog Lady]

Plans are well underway for this year's Mush for a Cure FUNdraiser on Minnesota's Gunflint Trail. Friday night, March 9, 2012 is the Pink Pajama Party at Windigo Lodge with music by Trail's End Band. Saturday, March 10th is the mushing event with the sourdough start on Gunflint Lake. There's skijoring and mushing both. The Festivities on Poplar Lake in front of Trail Center will be happening all day long and that night you can dance to D'Merritt. It's a great time for a great cause! http://www.mushforacure.com