NYSUT members put more life in their time, with Making Strides

his October, NYSUT members will join the thousands of people who are taking to the streets to fight breast cancer.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the collaboration between NYSUT and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Last year marked the third consecutive year that the statewide union has been the top donor for this national organization.

Altogether, NYSUT members have raised $20 million to support groundbreaking breast cancer research, ensure greater access to quality care, influence public policy, and provide critical patient support.

“NYSUT is proud to support Making Strides Against Breast Cancer,” said J. Philippe Abraham, NYSUT secretary-treasurer, whose office coordinates the statewide union’s social justice initiatives. The annual fundraiser is deeply personal to Abraham, who lost one of his sisters to the disease. “We are moved to action by those we have lost, and we are inspired to keep going by those who remain. We are thousands strong, and together, we will defeat this deadly disease.”

Jennifer Kinney’s mother, EmmaJean Kinney was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in May 2021. Less than four years later, she was gone.

“I miss her every single day,” said Kinney. “She was my best friend.”

Co-vice president of the Middletown Teachers Association, Kinney has raised $1,000 to support breast cancer research each of the last several years. This year, in honor of her mother, she decided to increase her goal to $2,500. Kinney will also serve as captain of the Middletown TA team, which has set its own ambitious goal to raise $7,000. In addition to the Hudson Valley walk, MTA will also be hosting a fundraising event on Friday, Oct. 2 at Equilibrium in Middletown.

Kinney remembers her mother’s laugh as “infectious.” She was a single mother who raised three daughters on her own in Westchester, Kinney said. When her kids were young, she went back to school to earn her associate degree and then began a career as an accounts clerk at Bronxville Union Free School District. “Anything that she had, she gave,” Kinney said. “She helped us develop into who we are, strong and independent women.”

At this year’s kick-off event for Making Strides of the Hudson Valley, which took place Aug. 19, one of the speakers had metastatic breast cancer, like Kinney’s mother.

“She said, ‘You know, I can’t get more time in my life, but I can put more life in my time,” recalls Kinney. “That really spoke to me.”

Want to get involved? Join a team and share your pictures and stories with us at united@nysut.org or tag us @NYSUT on social media.