When she was just 27, Melissa Fochetta’s life was touched by cancer.
Now a survivor, a proud mom of a five-year-old boy and a brand new baby girl, Fochetta and best friend Phyllis Inserillo, also a mom of two, are working – and walking – toward a cure.
Last year, the pair, who met at “Mommy and Me” classes, co-chaired the First Annual Howard Beach Relay for Life at Frank M. Charles Memorial Park. It was the most successful first-year relay in Queens – ever – with 500 participants raising more than $150,000.
This year, they aim to raise $250,000.
And to kick off “relay season,” they hosted a fund-raising event in Father Dooley Hall at St. Helen’s Roman Catholic Church, to commemorate May 1 as National “Paint the Town Purple Day.”
“It’s an awareness color for all types of cancer,” explained Fochetta.
With everyone decked out in purple, including Barney the Dinosaur, the event, with a bake sale, face painting, even the Pampered Chef cookware sale (which donated 25 percent of all proceeds) raised over $2,500 – in addition to the $51,000 already raised online.
There was also a fashion show courtesy of Kids Kouture and dance performances by students of the Joe Stanford Dance Studios. Exit Realty was one of the evening’s sponsors.
“Everything was donated,” said Fochetta. “Howard Beach has been so amazing to us – the support we’ve gotten is amazing.”
The Pullara family of Ozone Park donated all the food for the evening. Charles “CJ” Pullara lost his mother, Theresa, to lung cancer in November of 2009 when he was just 11.
And, leading up to the event, P.S. 207 and P.S. 146, as well as St. Helen’s and Our Lady of Grace, helped to raise over $8,000 through “purple days” and mini-relays.
Fochetta also thanked St. Helen’s, especially Monsignor Al LoPinto and Father Robert Keighron, who “have been huge supporters” and “amazing.”
Justine Orr of Gold’s Gym was there with her team “Just Delightful,” formed in memory of her grandfather, Daniel Auciello, 72, who passed away in 2007 from lung cancer.
And on Wednesday, May 5, the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was lit in purple, thanks “single-handedly” to Inserillo.
“Relay is my life at this point,” she said. “For us to come out and do something and be recognized by the American Cancer Society is both good for the neighborhood and good for the residents.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The second annual Howard Beach Relay for Life will be on June 26 at Charles Park. To learn more, sign up, donate, or form a team, visit www.relayforlife.orghowardbeachny. And from now until the walk, you can purchase a “Wall of Hope” banner (from $125 to $500) that will be hung in the park.
