Pink Ribbon of the Month, February: Neil Stein

In May, the recipient of this month's Pink Ribbon recognition will be honored again as the Komen Philadelphia Affiliate's Volunteer of the Year.  And when it is presented - at our Race for the Cure Sponsor Party - it will be a hallmark event, for Neil Stein is the youngest person to ever receive this award from The Affiliate. 


That distinction itself speaks volumes about why we've chosen Neil for the Pink Ribbon of the Month and the Victor Dunoff Volunteer of the Year Award - for, in just two decades, Neil has accomplished a level of activism in the breast cancer movement that takes most people a full lifetime to achieve. His value to our community's fight against breast cancer stems from both  what he does as well as how he does it: with an extraordinary passion and steadfast conviction that in his life time he will see the disease become no more threatening than the common cold.

 

Last year, we honored Fred Stein with our Pink Ribbon of the Month. Connection? Yes.  Fred is Neil's father, and introduced Neil to the Komen family when Fred 'enlisted' him to help him orchestrate the very first Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure. Just ten years old at the time, Neil gave the event all he had - investing endless hours Race Saturday and Sunday. And, while we certainly acknowledge that his father's love for the cause helped to inspire him, from that first Race day in 1991, Neil directed his activism in his own way - getting more deeply involved year after year, and establishing his own legacy in the history of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

 

The Affiliate's mission in the quest for the cures has been enriched by Neil in a way that moves us to call him a SON to the Komen family. From our Board of Directors, to our staff, to our families of volunteers, survivors and supporters, Neil is treasured beyond measure. We could fill pages explaining why he is so valuable to us all - for the reasons encompass twenty-one years of loyal service, starting with our very first Race, and leaving unfinished chapters.  An event producer and multimedia coordinator for the Creative Group, Neil  continues to generously invest his time, ideas, professional abilities, personal talents and heart whenever, however and wherever we're in need of them.

 

Neil might say that, in the past twenty-one years, he feels in some ways he's  'grown up' with The Affiliate. Well, in many ways, The Affiliate has  'grown up' with him as well... and in fact, we've evolved because of Neil's contributions.  Time and again, Neil has helped to take The Affiliate to the next place we need to be, by, for example serving as a Chairperson of our P.I.N. Stripes initiative for young professionals.  

 

"I look back on that 'little boy' on Eakins Oval in 1991 -- so full of energy and ambition to help his dad -- and then relive the years between now and then," said Elaine I. Grobman, Executive Director of the Komen Philadelphia Affiliate. "He has grown into a confident, young man with a unique and wonderful combination of strong morals, commitment to leading his generation, enthusiasm for learning from the generations before him, and devotion to embracing everyone in the Komen Promise to end breast cancer forever."

 

So, we proudly name Neil Stein our Pink Ribbon of the Month, looking upon him as the man who fights every day for each woman - past, present and future - with the passion and commitment of a loving son.

 

Pictured (bottom): Neil Stein with his mother, Abbie, at the 2010 Teens for the Cure® Tickled Pink®