Advisory Council member Jeanette McKittrick brought a colorful idea to a meeting of the Advisory Council last year. She thought the Foundation needed a way to promote itself in a memorable, yet whimsical fashion, so she suggested that the Advisory Council consider creating scarves that would be unique and would help create income for the Foundation.

“I wanted to create a little buzz about the Foundation, give people something to talk about, and a way to introduce the subject to others.  And I thought it might be fun. There’s nothing fun about breast cancer, but the generous reaction of so many men to this concept has been both fun and heartwarming. It’s a gentlemen’s initiative to buy and wear these ties to support breast cancer awareness, which is refreshing,” said Mrs. McKittrick. “I knew that I could work with my friend Kate Ackerly, who designs ties for Peter Blair, to come up with a fresh but elegant design. We just hoped it would be a big seller.”

Mrs. McKittrick took the leadership role at the Foundation to put the tie project together. The design that she and Mrs. Ackerly came up with is clever and has been a retail hit.

“We launched the ties in the spring of 2010, and  added scarves in November, so we have something for women to wear as well as men to show their support for breast cancer awareness.”

The scarves come in four color combinations.   The purchase of a scarf allows one woman to have a free mammogram.

“Around the border of the scarf, in elegant script, is the name of the Foundation and To Know Is To Live. I think that captures our message very clearly. The sooner a cancer is detected, the better the outcome. Dr. Paredes is reaching out to doctors all over the world to raise breast cancer detection skills. As the gap between the onset of cancer and its detection narrows, the closer detection comes to cure.”

To Order the Scarves go to: http://www.paredesfoundation.org/donate/donate-online/

Your purchase of the Scarves will be used to support the Ellen Shaw de Paredes Breast Cancer Foundation . . .  your purchase will save lives.

Ellen Shaw de Paredes Breast Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The Foundation would like to set up a volunteer retail selling team for the ties and scarves. To volunteer to help sell ties and scarves for the Foundation, please call Shep Haw at 804-545-7655 or e-mail Shep.Haw@ParedesFoundation.org.