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57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, April 6, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 19, 2004 Ashland High School senior and volunteer Sharayah MacKinnon checks out one of the nearly 2,000 donated gowns for sale at the Windmill-Ashland Hills Inn today and Saturday. Proceeds benefit Brides Against Breast Cancer. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Brides help charity by saying, ‘I do’ By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune With wedding season just around the corner, brides-to-be can shop for a special gown this weekend while at the same time making life a little happier for a fellow mother, daughter or sister who is facing a terminal disease. "Brides Against Breast Cancer," a nationwide tour of charity wedding gown sales by the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, will bring nearly 2,000 donated name-brand and designer wedding gowns to the Windmill-Ashland Hills Inn today and Saturday. The organization, which grants final wishes to women with stage four breast cancer, was founded in 1997 by Executive Director Fran Hansen after she endured two false diagnoses of the frightening disease. While those initial tests were found to be in error, Hansen scoured the Internet for information and found herself "in tears" over the stories of women helping one another in their daily fight. Advertisement "Here they were, fighting for their lives, and before all this happened they were two-income families," Hansen said. "Now they’re spending their last days with their family and they have no money to do something special to make a memory for their husbands and children. They’re too busy worrying about paying the light bill and putting bread and milk on the table." Hansen said she woke one night with a vision of "the ‘Oprah Winfrey Show,’ 10,000 wedding gowns and a big truck." After just five years, Brides Against Breast Cancer has received nationwide support, has appeared on the ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’ and, in October 2002, received its 10,000th dress. "Women across this nation have literally donated one of their most treasured and prized possessions, their wedding dresses, to make a difference in someone’s life," Hansen said. A wedding dress is "something women save for generations, yet instead of putting it into a closet or under a bed, they’re taking it out and hugging it one last time because of these touching stories." The more than 100 special wishes granted, Hansen said, which cost several thousand dollars each, run the gamut from special trips to family reunions and concert tickets. "But my favorite wish request, I think the most poignant, was we had a young mother who was 26 years old and had two little girls, a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old," Hansen remembered. "She told us, ‘My children will never remember a trip, they’re too young. Please send me a video camera so they can remember my voice and my mannerisms. I don’t want them to forget my face.’ "Because we could grant her wish, she was able to leave behind recorded messages to her children for them to receive on their birthdays, at high school graduations, even for when they had their own children ...," Hansen said. More heart wrenching than some of the stories, Hansen said, is the fact that every three minutes in the United States, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. While the disease is the No. 2 killer of women overall, it is the No. 1 killer of younger women. "This is something that touches everyone," Hansen said. Hansen’s sister-in-law and White City resident Judy Adams, who is successfully beating her own fight against the disease, said it was hard to explain the value of being able to have special moments with family when faced with something so frightening. "It’s just — gosh — it’s so important to not only give awareness about this disease but to help people in this way, by helping them make memories for their families to look back on," said Adams. "When you lose somebody to cancer, it’s so fast and it’s too soon. They need those memories with their family." With nearly every sale hosted since 1997, Hansen said, more donations of gowns had been received than sales made. In addition to requesting donations of gowns and other wedding apparel, Hansen is hoping, as a way to reach out to the community hosting the sale, that a family member or friend of a woman � or man � facing a terminal diagnosis of breast cancer will let the organization know of a special wish they might help grant. "Brides-to-be can come find a dress for their special day," said Hansen, "and could be making a friend or neighbor’s wish come true at the same time." Come one, come all and try on that wedding dress Admission to the charity wedding gown sale is free, and brides-to-be can try dresses on to their "heart’s content," Executive Director Fran Hansen said. The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Windmill-Ashland Hills Inn, 2525 Ashland St. All brides will receive a free gift. Gowns range from brand-new, designer dresses given by manufacturers and bridal shops to vintage gowns. A selection of bridesmaid dresses, shoes, veils and slips are also available. Prices for gowns, some of which were originally valued at up to $5,000, range from $49 to $599. Those wishing to donate gowns or to become a recipient of Making Memories may call 503-307-5600 or 503-680-3730, or visit the Web site at www.makingmemories.org Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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