Pink Ribbon of the Month, September: Sally Rotenberg

This month, we are proud to honor Sally Rotenberg, breast cancer survivor and dedicated Komen Philadelphia Affiliate volunteer, with our "Pink Ribbon of the Month." A recently retired teacher of nearly 40 years, we choose to share Sally's story this month because, as teachers, parents and students dive into the new school year, Sally has important lessons for everyone!


 

At the top of the "curriculum," is the Dietz and Watson "Pretty In Pig"... an awareness and fundraising program of The Affiliate to which Sally added a whole other dimension by applying her years of experience as a teacher,  journey as a survivor and incredible passion for the breast cancer movement. 

 

 

As Co-Chairperson for the School Outreach Program, last year alone Sally helped the entire Dietz & Watson "Pretty In Pig" campaign, including the school component, raise approximately $75,000 for the Komen Philadelphia Affiliate. But her contributions to our community breast cancer movement run much deeper than this one role. She is an advocate. A fundraiser. An educator. A thinker and a doer. A friend to everyone fighting the fight. And, perhaps above all else, she is a believer in the reality that, together, we can one day soon eradicate breast cancer forever.

 

For almost a decade, Sally and her daughter, Abby, had volunteered for and participated in the Susan G. Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure®--each year, together mother and daughter watched from the bottom of the Art Museum steps as the pink sea of breast cancer survivors enveloped them. In 2006, Sally viewed this emotional scene from within, treasuring every step in the Parade of Pink as a celebration of her own battle with, and victory over, breast cancer.

 

"I never thought I'd be walking down those steps as a survivor," said Sally. "It's something you never expect to happen to you, and something that forever changes your life."

 

Since that time, Sally has embraced her life-changing experience as a means to change and enrich the lives of anyone and everyone she can through her volunteerism with the Komen Philadelphia Affiliate. And her activism has become a true family affair--with everyone being inspired by Sally, Sally being inspired by her family, and the entire clan celebrating life by empowering the fight together. These include Sally's husband Kenny; son and daughter-in-law Jeffrey and Melissa; daughter Abby; daughter Jill Moss, her husband Brian and their three children; and sister Dianne Schwartz... all of whom volunteer with the Race and/or "Pretty In Pig" and, with the Moss family even taking our little piggies south to their hometown community in Florida.

 

"Sally is a beautiful example of living life to the fullest... of recognizing her life for the gift it is, and embracing everyone she can with the insights to honor their own lives in the very same way," said Elaine I. Grobman, Executive Director of the Komen Philadelphia Affiliate. "For her, working with The Affiliate is an opportunity to transform her breast cancer journey into hope for others. Everyone she meets represents an opportunity to empower the Komen promise. To her, every person she can embrace in the Komen mission brings us one step closer to a world without breast cancer."

 

 

From volunteering for the CBS 3 Call for the Cure and Race registration events, to helping sell raffle tickets, speaking to groups, and much more, Sally is an activist with The Affiliate on many levels. However it is the "Pretty In Pig" program that truly embodies what makes her Pink Ribbon of the Month caliber! When we came to Sally with the idea of taking this piggy-bank fundraiser into local schools, she not only agreed to head up the program, but she pushed the envelope to give it greater, wider-reaching, impact.

 

With Sally's initiative, hard work, connections, and help of her good friend,  fellow survivor, and Co-Chair, Susan Hyman, the "Pretty In Pig" School Outreach Program is now running beyond our expectations and has been transformed from a fundraising campaign to an initiative empowering multiple generations with breast cancer awareness, education, and the reinforcement of the idea that every penny counts when it comes to saving lives. Through "Pretty In Pig," Sally has put the power over breast cancer into the hands of thousands, showing them that they can make a difference in the fight and inspiring everyone to take action.

 

The Komen Philadelphia Affiliate is proud to honor Sally Rotenberg with the September Pink Ribbon of the Month. We we thank her -- on behalf of millions of women, men and children -- for the many lessons she teaches us, her friendship and her passion.

 

Pictured: Survivors of breast cancer, champions of "change" via the Pretty in Pig School Outreach Program...

 

  • Top photo, Sally Rotenberg (left) and Elaine Grobman take time out at the 2010 Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure before sending "this piggy" home full of cash for the cures.
  • Bottom photo, Susan Hyman doing "Pig outreach" at the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Health & Welfare Conference.