Distance Swims, Artists-Writers Game, Ellen’s Run
By Jack Graves
The East Hampton Star
August 16, 2018
Excerpt
Saturday promises to be the sportiest weekend day of the summer inasmuch as four events here, namely Fighting Chance distance swims, the Artists and Writers Softball Game, a Hamptons Hoops Academy basketball clinic with the Brooklyn Nets’ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and the Hampton Cup junior tennis tournament at Hampton Racquet, a benefit for Project Most, are vying for attention.
Not to forget that Ellen’s Run, now in its 23rd year of raising money that’s been spent here for breast cancer prevention, treatment, and counseling, is to be held Sunday at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s Parrish Hall, at 9 a.m.
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Julie Ratner, who launched a foundation after her sister, Ellen P. Hermanson, died of breast cancer almost a quarter-century ago, said during a conversation at The Star this week that she’s proud of the fact that virtually all the money raised by Ellen’s Run and associated events has stayed here, the Ellen P. Hermanson Breast Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital being the chief result.
“I feel it’s my responsibility to give back to the community that supports me,” she said. “I think this is a beautiful community, and I love it that people come out to help others here, whether you know them or not.”
While research obviously was critical, “this is where you need the money, where it can impact and transform lives. And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve paid for two state-of-the-art tomosynthesis 3-D mammography machines, one at the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center and one for the satellite center in Hampton Bays. It’s the same equipment you’d expect to find at Memorial Sloan-Kettering or Weill Cornell.”
“This year,” she added, “we have several goals. One was to fund 10 chemotherapy chairs at the Phillips Cancer Center, which is being built in Southampton. They’re $10,000 each, and we’ve funded all of them. Another is to boost Ellen’s Well, our outreach program to reduce anxiety that includes the services of a full-time oncological social worker.”
In that regard, she was happy to announce that through State Senator Ken LaValle’s efforts, “we’re due to receive a $75,000 grant from the state for Ellen’s Well. Because of that we’ll be able to fund so many more services for women.”
There once was some concern that traffic would prove a dampener for East Hamptoners driving to Southampton for the race, which originally had been held at East Hampton High School.
“But, as we all know by now, there’s nobody out and about on Sunday mornings,” Ratner said. “There’s no line at Starbucks, it’s a clear shot. It takes 20 minutes from my house in Northwest. And when you arrive, we’ll greet you with open arms and lots of love.”
Original article: https://easthamptonstar.com/Sports/2018815/Distance-Swims-Artists-Writers-Game-Ellen-Run