LAVALLETTE — The 19th annual 2-Mile Breast Cancer Walk, “Together, We Can Lick This,” will be held on Sunday, Aug. 7 with a starting time of 8:30 a.m.
The walk will be hosted by the Tone Foundation, along with the Lavallette PBA 372 and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. It will commence at The Music Man Singing Ice Cream Shoppe at 2305 Grand Central Avenue.
Owners of the ice cream parlor, Aggie Roberts and wife Josephine, are the organizers of the event, founding the Tone Foundation back in 2004 following the opening of the shop. The couple was inspired by Mr. Roberts’s mother, Antoinette “Toni” Agliata, who was a nine-year breast cancer survivor when the organization was started and combined their marketing experience to create the organization. This is the first year without Ms. Agliata present, as she died last year, just following the walk, at the age of 91.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Tone Foundation, named after Ms. Agliata’s nickname, is a non-profit organization that works to raise awareness of early detection of breast cancer, as well as raise money for breast cancer research. One hundred percent of the profits will be donated to the foundation.
“Join us for this inspiring event to honor breast cancer survivors, raise awareness about the disease, and to help save lives,” the walk’s website reads. “With every step you take, you’ll be giving people facing breast cancer more candles to light.”
Aggie Roberts told The Ocean Star that, in terms of pre-registration numbers, this year is shaping up to be one of the best ever.
“It’s just such a welcoming event, because families are walking with families, children are being pushed in carriages and being pulled in wagons,” said Mr. Roberts. “The stories of people that have survived and are walking are so inspiring, and then the memory of the people that are not walking is also very poignant.”
Mr. Roberts encourages participants to gather at The Music Man prior to the walk to witness what he calls the “Sea of Pink,” with around a thousand people sporting the event’s pink shirt, and to experience the camaraderie of the community.
Mr. Roberts noted that sharing stories with each other is the most inspiring part of the walk.
“You hear those stories, and you know, last summer, [a participant] came to me and she told me her story. She said, ‘You’re so inspiring to do this,’ and I looked at her and I laughed at her, and I said, ‘I’m so inspiring? You’re the one that’s inspiring.’ She laughed back at me, and we had a good hug.”
The walk is set to begin at The Music Man and will go to the North End of Lavallette. The walk then proceeds to the boardwalk, passing by all the businesses in Lavallette. At Ortley Avenue the route will turn, walking down the boardwalk, and then back to the Music Man for scoops of ice cream.
Registration can be done over the phone, at 732-854-2779, or through the event’s website at lavawalk.org. Participants also may register at The Music Man Singing Ice Cream Shoppe during the store’s operating hours or on the day of the walk before it begins, from 8 to 8:30 a.m. There is a $30 registration fee for those who wish to participate.
Last year, over 900 walkers participated to raise $20,087 for research and awareness.
Sponsoring partners include The Music Man, Birchler Relators, Sessa Design, Peter Salerno, Inc., Ohana Grill and Sessa Andrieu Wealth Management [UBS].
Local businesses involved include: Sand Dollar Pancake House Restaurant, Big Ed’s Produce, Diane Turton Realtors, Lenny’s Pizza & Italian Grill, Iceberg Ice Cream, Castaway’s Pub, Lavallette Hardware, My Sister’s Jewelry Box, Lava Java House, The Beach Home, Jerry’s Farm Market, Childers & Sotheby’s International Realty, Meg’s Grill, Theurer Law, Lavallette Painting, Crab’s Claw Inn, Doug Gahm Plumbing – Heating Air Conditioning, Tradewinds Motor Lodge, Keller Williams Shore Properties, Garden State Modular Homes LLC, Enright Chiropractic, Lisa Temple Team, Knoll Acupuncture, Linda’s Lavallette Blinds, and in loving memory of Patty D’Emidio.
“We’re all fortunate that we can do something like this together and get our strength from each other,” Mr. Roberts added.
For more on this story, read the next edition of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
Check out our other Lavallette stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Ocean Star, get your subscription today! For just $34 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.
 2x2.jpg)
