Wellness bags for cancer patients

Just a few days before Mother’s Day, Queens Center Mall participated in a national event that recognized female cancer survivors while also putting together wellness bags for women who are currently battling it.
Queens Center Mall was one of 65 Macerich centers throughout the nation to participate in “Step Out Step Up.” During the Thursday, May 8 event, about 200 volunteers in Queens put together 500 wellness bags that will be donated to cancer patients through the American Cancer Society, the New York Weill Cornell Medical Center, the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital.
The event helped introduce a partnership between Macerich and the Step Up Women’s Network, which is “a national non-profit membership organization dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls.”
Jeffrey S. Owen, the Senior Manager of Queens Center Mall, said that “Step Out Step Up” was the largest single-day event in the history of the company and described it as a “fresh and interesting way to make a difference.” He also said that, between all 65 centers, a total of 30,000 wellness bags would be assembled. Selena Soo, Program Manager of Step Up Women’s Network, said that the wellness bag program is one of their “most exciting and meaningful” programs.
The retailers and vendors who donated items for the bags were Aldo, A|X Armani Exchange, Sephora, Bare Escentuals, Starbucks, The Body Shop, Missha, Select Comfort, Zales, Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffees, Perfumania, Helzberg Diamonds, Claires/Icing, Control Total Facility Support, Inc., Sign*A*Rama, Allied Advertising, Iavarone Bros., Citibank, Queens Museum of Art, Five Star Electric, Steven Brown Caterers, LaGuardia Airport Hotel and Cherry Hill Photo.
“As part of the Queens community, Queens Center is integral to the community here, as is the American Cancer Society,” said April N. Brown, Director of Corporate Relations with the American Cancer Society. “It’s great to see the volunteers, it’s great to see the supporters and to see our own volunteers of cancer survivors doing the fashion show.”
The fashion show was hosted by Ins & Outs Magazine. The retailers who participated in it were Aldo, Express, New York & Company, Club Monaco, Lane Bryant, Banana Republic, White House | Black Market, JCPenney, Macy’s, Afaze, Zales, Mac, Bare Escentuals, and Natural Look Aveda Salon.
Cancer survivor Judy Matzio of East Elmhurst was one of the models. She said that she wanted to show people that you can go through a hard time and come back to feel like a whole person again.
Also participating in the fashion show was survivor Daisy Beaulino, a resident of Corona who is also the founder and facilitator of the St. John’s Hospital Latina Breast and Ovarian Cancer Support Group. She said that when she was first diagnosed with cancer she was devastated and later wanted to help others dealing with similar problems, which is why the support group was formed about eight years ago. Beaulino, who had no previous modeling experience, said that the event was very exciting for her.
Debra Pagano Cohen, the Director of Communications at St. John’s Hospital, said the support group is very special and that it means a lot to the women to have people come and speak to them in Spanish. She added that the vendors were very generous in what they gave for the wellness bags.
“Overall, the event was phenomenal,” said Queens Center Mall Senior Marketing Manager Dawn Simon, adding that each wellness bag will be different. “Most importantly, participants at Queens Center made sure each bag included a handwritten note of hope and encouragement which, along with the items in he wellness bags, are intended to boost the spirits of women facing the challenges of cancer.”