My grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. There was one point during her chemo treatment that we thought we were going to lose her. It was so hard on my Mom and her sisters. 2006 is also the year I started volunteering with the Central Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. It’s a wonderful organization that I’m proud to volunteer for. Not only do funds go towards a national effort to find a cure, the majority of the proceeds of funds raised locally goes to help women and men in Central Florida with screening, diagnostics and treatment.

Even though times are as they are, this just means that patients suffering through cancer are squeezed even tighter. Many of these patients have no insurance or not enough.

October is a constant reminder and a month of awareness (even though Komen Central Florida’s work happens year-round). Please get that needed mammogram and check yourself. I actually had my first mammogram last year and am very thankful to the technician put me at ease and was so nice to me.

I have been volunteering my time since high school and will continue to volunteer my time to causes I believe in. I am a firm believer in giving back because of the generosity and kindness my family was shown while I was growing up. I have huge respect for corporations who do the same. To me this speaks volumes, if I like your product and you do good, that’s a winning package.

Here are a few companies (food/cooking-related of course) who are helping to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure:

 This is the brand new KitchenAid Cook for the Cure Raspberry Ice Stand Mixer.

KitchenAid – They run the 1,000 Cooks for the Cure event and donate a portion of each Pink appliance/gadget purchase to Komen for the Cure. I totally gush over this company. I love my light pink stand mixer and it’s my essential tool for making buttercream.

Taken with my iPhone

Eggland’s Best – My favorite brand of eggs has the Komen for the Cure logo on them for the month of October. I love that my favorite egg brand are helping out a great cause.

This new book called the Betty Crocker Living with Cancer Cookbook contains tons of recipes and a bonus section on breast cancer as well as a note from the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Ambassasdor Nancy G. Brinker.  I actually reviewed this book on Cooks & Books & Recipes.

Yoplait lids: new this year, you can submit lids online. Did you know that that for every lid, Yoplait donates $0.10 to Komen for the Cure. That may not seem like a lot but the Affiliates around the country see that money and it makes a huge difference, believe me.

Pretzel Crips: my new obsession, thanks to my co-worker. I went to their website and found these. Love that these have 0g of fat, they taste good and they are working hard and supporting Komen for the Cure!

Today, my grandmother and a friend who was diagnosed last year are both survivors. We’re so thankful for the advances over the past few decades and that more and more are surviving breast cancer. The key is early detection.

I’m thankful for Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker’s continued commitment to her sister Susan G. Komen and am at the same time cognizant of her loss of her sister and the women and men we still lose today and have lost.

Me & Angela at the Central Florida Race for the Cure in 2010 (taken with my iPhone)

There are so many ways you can help in addition to buying products that support Komen for the Cure and other breast cancer foundations. I’m volunteering at the Susan G. Komen Central Florida Race for the Cure this month on October 16th and have taken the Power of 15 challenge. I want to raise $150 by asking 15 people to donate $10 each. You’re welcome to join me by registering for the Central Florida Race for the Cure or by donating towards my participation.

To find a Race for the Cure event in your area, please visit komen.org.

Have you or your family been affected by breast cancer? Do you do anything to help bring awareness during October? Do you have any favorite products that go pink for October? I want to hear all about it.

Disclosure:  These are my own opinions and are not the opinions of Susan G. Komen for the Cure or the Central Florida Affiliate or their respective Board of Directors. This is NOT a sponsored post and I only mention brands on my blog that I love. I did receive a review copy of the Betty Crocker cookbook and again, my opinions are always my own. This post does contain affiliate links. For any products listed in this post that are purchased via my affiliate link, the proceeds will be donated to Komen Central Florida.

the little nook – October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month © 2009-2011 the little kitchen. All rights reserved.

Today, fellow food blogger and friend, Jennie and her daughters, will say good bye to Mikey in a memorial service. Jennie and her daughters’ loss has been felt throughout the food blogging community and has garnered an incredible amount of love and support on twitter, facebook and her blog. Her sudden loss has made me take a pause and look inward at what is important. It’s always a work in progress but Jennie’s grace and inspirational words should be an example for us all.

As food bloggers, we have a wonderful community founded upon our passion for food. But this passion for food has also translated into friendships and support for people (some whom we have never met). I’m thankful to be a part of a community I never knew existed and never knew I would become a part of had I not started a food blog.

Erika of Ivory Hut, who suffered her own tremendous loss last year, has been organizing care packages for Jennie and her daughters. With the incredible support of the community, I heard she has enough people to send Jennie packages for 52 weeks! Efforts are also being made to start a fund for her girls. If you’re interested in participating, please email her at erika (at) ivoryhut (dot) com.

I made Jennie’s wonderful peanut butter pie recipe using mini springform pans. For the recipe and a touching and inspiring tribute to Mikey, please visit Jennie’s blog.

Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey and Jennie © 2009-2011 the little kitchen. All rights reserved.

In 2006, my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is currently in remission but in the early days of her diagnosis, we were all scared. My mother like everyone else in the family was devastated. My grandmother living in Southern California and me in Florida made it hard for me to visit her easily. There is also a language barrier. My grandmother does not speak very much English and I always say that I speak Vietnamese at the level of a third-grader even though it was my first language. It was hard to discuss with her what she was going through but I’m sure having her left breast removed and going through chemotherapy treatment deeply affected her. It’s been a few years now but my husband and I did have the opportunity to visit her while she was receiving chemo. And during those treatments, she did have some scares. Today, she is doing fine and we’re all thankful for that.

At the time of her diagnosis, I was feeling helpless and wanting to do something about it. I found an organization called the Central Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and started volunteering. I started volunteering at the Central Florida Race for the Cure in 2006 and have volunteered at every Race ever since. I even joined the Race committee (to help plan the Race) the past two years.

This organization is near and dear to my heart because 75% of the net proceeds raised by the Central Florida Affiliate stays in the community to help fund breast cancer education, screening and treatment to uninsured and underinsured women and men. The rest of the 25% goes to fund national research to find a cure. They also work hard to promote breast cancer awareness.

Know your risk…the single greatest risk factors for breast cancer are being a woman and growing older. Understand your risk for breast cancer and get screened yearly starting at age 35 for women with no family history and at 40 for women with family history.

As a volunteer for the Central Florida Affiliate, I recently had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Dallas, Texas for the Komen for the Cure Affiliate Leadership Conference. I got to meet men and women from all over country who work or volunteer for other Komen Affiliates. It was very exciting and awe inspiring. I even got to meet Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Here’s a picture of us below. It’s sad because I was so in awe, I didn’t know what to say to her. The picture was snapped and I was on my way, wanting to kick myself because I didn’t say anything to her except for hi.

Well, what would I say to her if I had to do it all over again? I would say thank you. Thank you for your inspiration and thank you for making that special promise to your sister, Susan G. Komen. Thank you for working so hard all these years to try to fulfill that promise and thank you for inspiring millions across the country and across the world. Thank you for being so determined in your mission to end breast cancer forever. And thank you for what you and the Komen for the Cure organization has done and are doing for women suffering with and affected by breast cancer for the last 30 years. Thank you for not stopping and thank you for motivating and inspiring me to join in the fight.

There are many reasons why I volunteer and why I’m passionate about the breast cancer cause. It recently hit home for me once again, I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and she will begin chemo treatment soon. I am constantly thinking of her and her struggle.

Amb. Nancy Brinker wrote a book, did you know that? It comes out this Fall and it’s called Promise Me: How a Sister’s Love Launched the Global Movement to End Breast Cancer. I read an excerpt of the book and it’s very moving. She shares so much about herself and her sister, Susan G. Komen. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book and read it. To me, the story of Nancy and her sister, Susan, is so inspiring because it literally launched a movement. When Nancy made that promise to her sister to end breast cancer and not allow one more woman to suffer like she did, she had no idea how she was going to achieve it. She started Komen for the Cure with the first Race for the Cure in 1982. Today, Komen for the Cure is the largest grassroots organization fighting breast cancer and has provided over $1.5 billion to fight the disease.

If you preorder the Promise Me book online between now and September 13, 2010, you can designate a friend, sister, mother or whomever you wish to receive a free copy that is also signed by Amb. Brinker. For more information, click here. You can also read an excerpt of the book at that link. Needless to say, I will be ordering my copy and I’m still deciding on who I want the other copy to go to…I may order multiple copies if I can’t decide!

Now onto the giveaway, I would like to give YOU a copy of Amb. Nancy Brinker’s book, Promise Me, and let you pick a person to have the autographed copy sent to. I am also giving away this pink ribbon tea towel, it is a cooking blog after all, to another lucky winner. If I get over 150 comments, I will give away a second copy of the book (and that winner will be able to designate the recipient of the autographed copy).

Here’s how to enter: Enter a comment below, tell me your name and who you would like the autographed copy to go to and why. Be sure to include your email address or twitter handle in your comment.

Additional entries (for each one, you must return here and leave a comment, each comment is an entry):

1. Go to the komen.org site and check out the breast cancer facts. Come back here and leave and a comment and share one breast cancer fact that you learned.
2. Make at least a $5 donation to Komen Central Florida online and come back here and leave a comment here saying that you donated. Obviously, you’re on your honor on this one.
3. Blog about this giveaway on your blog. Be sure to comment below with a link to the post.
4. “Like” the little kitchen on facebook and share the link to this giveaway on facebook. After you post the link or status, copy the link below the post that says “about xx seconds ago” or “about xx minutes ago” and paste below as a comment.
5. Follow me and tweet about this giveaway. Tweet the following (without the quotes): “A very special giveaway from @thelittlekitchn, Amb Brinker’s book Promise Me (on sale this Fall) http://bit.ly/d97EwI #breastcancer #komen”. After you tweet, copy the link below your tweet that says “xx seconds ago” or “xx minutes ago” and paste below as a comment.

Very important! Please be sure to include your email address or twitter handle so I can contact you if you’re the winner. For each entry type, you must provide a comment below. Your comment is your entry. Entries must be received by Friday, May 28, 2010 at 11:59 pm Eastern time.

That’s a possible of six entries per person.

Winners will be randomly chosen using random.org. All winners will be verified. If I cannot contact you, an alternate winner will be chosen. The winner will be announced on this blog, facebook and on twitter. Once I contact you (the winner), I will need your shipping address along with the name & shipping address of whom you wish to receive the autographed copy. The book(s) will be shipped by the online retailer on September 14, 2010 and the designated recipient(s) should receive them from Komen for the Cure on or around October 15, 2010.

Please note: All comments will be moderated. Invalid entries or spam will be deleted. Don’t worry if your entry is verified to be valid, it will appear below within a reasonable amount of time.

Thank you for visiting my blog and entering in this giveaway and spreading the word about it. I want this post to have tons of comments (entries) because the point of this giveaway is to not only spread the word about this book coming out in the Fall but also to spread breast cancer awareness.

I hope you will also be inspired to join in the fight to end breast cancer forever. To find a Susan G. Komen for the Cure Affiliate in your area to volunteer at click here or to find a Race in your community, click here.

Disclosure and Disclaimer: This giveaway is not sponsored by any company or organization. I am paying for the prizes out of my own pocket. The views and opinions expressed in this post are mine alone and may or may not be held by Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Central Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure organizations or its Board members.

And because it’s about a cooking and baking blog, I’m including a picture of pink ribbon cookies I made earlier this year.

Here’s the recipe for these cookies. These cookies are covered in fondant.

A Very Special Giveaway © 2009-2011 the little kitchen. All rights reserved.