Southcoast and FUN 107 Announce Date For The Fourth Annual “Sharon’s Walk”

Southcoast™ Health System and FUN 107 today announced plans for Sharon’s Walk, the fourth annual memorial walk and family-friendly event to honor Sharon and Elaine Fogaren. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care’s Patient Caregiver Assistance Fund and the Southcoast Breast Center.

The fourth annual “Sharon’s Walk” will be held on Sunday, September 29, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fort Taber, 1000 Rodney French Boulevard in New Bedford. The 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) walk will take place around Fort Taber. Registration and check-in begins at 10 a.m. with the event kicking-off at 11 a.m. Participants are welcome to join the walk at any time during the event. The family friendly event includes entertainment, refreshments, raffles and more. Free health screenings will also be provided by the Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care and the Southcoast Health Van.

“Holding this annual walk to benefit Southcoast’s cancer patients and Breast Center supports Sharon’s wishes to improve access to cancer care locally and raise breast cancer awareness in memory of her mother, Elaine,” said J.R. Reitz, who co-hosted the “J.R. & Sharon” show for more than 10 years with Sharon Fogaren. “We hope all of our friends and listeners will join us again this year for the fourth annual ‘Sharon’s Walk’ to benefit this great cause and to remember our friend Sharon and her mother, Elaine.”

Sharon Fogaren, the long time co-host of the “J.R. & Sharon” morning radio show on FUN 107, passed away after a brief illness in 2009 at the young age of 43. Sharon’s mother, Elaine, passed away in 2004 after a battle with breast cancer. It was Sharon’s dream to host a walk to honor her mother and to help raise awareness about breast cancer and local cancer care.

Therese M. Mulvey, MD, Physician-in-Chief & Medical Oncologist at the Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care, said that Sharon’s Walk creates an energy that will carry on for generations.

“It is powerful when a community joins together in memory of a beloved member for a cause as important as its local cancer program,” Dr. Mulvey said. “The care provided at Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care is available to your family, friends and neighbors right here in your own communities. Our devoted team of physicians, oncology nurses, social workers and nutrition experts are available to each patient through all aspects of their care — from the initial cancer diagnosis through treatment and survivorship. Our goal is to provide our community with the highest level of expertise in a supportive and caring environment that they may not otherwise have access to. We are grateful for the ongoing support and hope everyone can join us again this year for another successful walk. ”

Registration is now open!
Individuals and teams can now pre-register for the walk online at www.southcoast.org/sharonswalk/ or at www.FUN107.com through September 26.

The pre-registration fee is $20 per person. All pre-registered participants will receive a Sharon’s Walk memorial T-shirt. The day-of registration fee is $25 per person, $10 for children under 12, and free for children in strollers.

Registration forms can be downloaded from either website or picked up at any of the following locations:

• FUN 107/WBSM studios, 22 Sconticut Neck Rd. in Fairhaven.
• The three Southcoast hospitals’ information desks:

o Charlton Memorial Hospital, 363 Highland Ave. in Fall River.
o St. Luke’s Hospital, 101 Page St. in New Bedford.
o Tobey Hospital, 43 High St. in Wareham.

• Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care, Mitchell Building, 363 Highland Ave. in Fall River.
• Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care, 206 Mill Road in Fairhaven.

Pre-registration forms and payment should be returned by mail to Southcoast Health System, Attn: External Affairs/Philanthropy, 101 Page Street, New Bedford, MA 02740. Registrations must be received no later than September 26.

Team prizes will be awarded on the day of the event for the team that raises the most money, the best dressed team, the most creative team name, and the team with the most walkers. In order to be eligible for team prizes, the team must be pre-registered by September 26.

Sponsorships
To sponsor an individual walker or a team or to make a general donation please visit
www.southcoast.org/sharonswalk/.

For more information please contact Amy Winn by email at winna@southcoast.org or by phone at 508-973-5358.

Sharon Fogaren (1965 – 2009)
A native of New Bedford, Sharon Fogaren graduated with honors from Bridgewater State College with a degree in Speech Communication and a concentration in radio and television production.

Her broadcasting career began at WPEP-AM in Taunton. She worked in radio in Boston, Providence, R.I., and Orlando, Fla.

Fogaren joined FUN 107 in 1995. She took some time to work as a news anchor at ABC-TV (Channel 6) in Providence, R.I., before returning in 2001 to reunite with J.R. Reitz to co-host the top-rated FM morning show in Southeastern Massachusetts. She also anchored and produced Southcoast Hospitals’ “Your Health Matters” television series, which aired throughout Bristol County Massachusetts in the late 1990s.

After the passing of her mother in 2004, Fogaren became an advocate for breast cancer awareness and hospice care and volunteered for Southcoast VNA, formerly known as Southcoast Home Care, Hospice & Palliative Care & Infusion in Fairhaven.

In August 2009, Fogaren fell ill, passing away two weeks later. She had planned to launch a walk in her mother, Elaine Fogaren’s, memory during October, breast cancer awareness month.