Chicks & Chucks

Three years after Cathy Halloran’s mom passed away suddenly, she received yet another devastating blow: she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Already in the midst of grieving her mother when she got the diagnosis, Halloran and her sister quickly realized they could no longer focus on what they didn’t have but rather what they were facing, a struggle.

“While in the hospital, my sister Cheryl said to me, ‘Chick, this happened for a reason,'” says Halloran.

It was at that point that Halloran said she made a vow to God that if he would bless her with good health again that she would do everything in her power to educate, encourage and empower other women and men who are also dealing with or have dealt with breast cancer.

It’s from that promise that Chicks & Chucks was born. “Our mom would call us ‘chicks’ while we were growing up,” she explains. “It was a way of keeping our mom’s spirit around.”

Cathy Halloran, founder of Chicks & Chucks

Chicks & Chucks is a 501c(3) non-profit organization that serves as a resource for breast cancer patients in need of financial and emotional support. Halloran says that by taking the “i” out of “Chicks” and replacing it with a “u” to form “Chucks” that they were able to include everyone – women and men. Plus, she adds, Chicks & Chucks can be seen as C&C to mean Cathy and Cheryl.

Through their “FUNdraising” efforts, as Halloran explains, the all-volunteer organization has been able to provide funding for resource books that are given to breast cancer surgery patients in the Tri-State hospitals as well as wigs, prosthetics and bras. Chicks & Chucks also provides financial assistance to those in need for medical costs during the journey to a cancer-free life.

Each year, the number of people benefitting from Chicks & Chucks increases. “In 2013, we helped approximately 335 patients,” says Halloran. “Since the creation of Chicks & Chucks, we’ve had the privilege of assisting more than 2,500 patients and survivors.”

As the need to help more patients grows, Halloran says fundraising efforts also increase to help bring in more donations.

According to Halloran, the work that Chicks & Chucks has accomplished is because of the commitment of the organization’s volunteers who work tirelessly and compassionately to help others. “They are the heart of the foundation,” she explains. The group includes Lisa Webster, Sue Fausz, Barb Schmidt, Carol Brun, Claire Bazler, Jenn Tharp, Missy Mullen and Bev Smith.

There’s always something new going on at Chicks & Chucks, Halloran says. In fact, the organization is hosting its first “Little Pink Dress” event on Saturday, August 16 at St. Joseph’s Memorial Hall in Cold Spring, Kentucky. “Clothing will be provided by Christopher & Banks and C.J. Banks,” she explains. “Our models are breast cancer patients and survivors and the event will be emceed by Tricia Macke, a news anchor for WXIX 19.”

You can also look out for Chicks & Chucks at Schenider’s Candy Shoppe on Friday, June 6, for the “Shop for a Charity” event during the annual Shop Bellevue event from 5 to 9 p.m. A portion of sales at the shop will be donated to Chicks & Chucks. At Shop for a Charity, Chicks & Chucks will be selling tickets to its Little Pink Dress Event for $30.

Other events where you’ll find Chicks & Chucks include a golf outing with the Campbell Central Fire Department in the fall, a Christmas concert at the Carnegie Center in December and working with area high schools to promote breast cancer awareness.

To learn more about Chicks & Chucks, visit www.chicksandchucks.org