High-Five the HERA Women's Cancer Foundation at Winter Outdoor Retailer Show

(January 9, 2009—Carbondale, Colo.) The HERA Women’s Cancer Foundation first attended Outdoor Retailer seven years ago, looking to secure sponsors for its first annual Climb4Life fundraising event. Since then, the nonprofit, which raises funding for ovarian cancer research and awareness of the disease’s symptoms, has hosted events across the U.S. and in Mexico and has awarded 16 research grants to Ph.D. and M.D. fellows at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in Austin. But this Winter OR Show is the first time that HERA will be exhibiting, at booth # 32050A. Special events at the booth include appearances and poster signings by professional athletes including:Beth Rodden Friday, January 23 10:30 a.m – 11:00 a.m. Lisa Rands Friday, January 23 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.Emily Harrington Saturday, January 24 11:30 a.m. – Noon Tonya Riggs Saturday, January 24, 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

People can also High-Five HERA by purchasing a subscription to Women’s Adventure Magazine; for each subscription purchased through the HERA promotion, the magazine will give $5 back to the non-profit. HERA will also host Huck for HERA with Lindner and Kinder, a dyno contest at the Rock and Ice booth/climbing wall on Thursday, January 22, at 11:30 a.m. – Noon. Professional climbers and HERA supporters Chris Lindner and Joe Kinder will emcee the event. Participants are asked to make a donation to HERA for a chance to dyno between teal HERA holds created by Etch. HERA’s Partners in Action, including Petzl and Omega Pacific, will furnish prizes up for the winners

“HERA has been able to accomplish a great deal in a short period of time thanks to the dedication of its outdoor industry partners, committed volunteers and the support of athletes. Collectively, we’ve created a shift: we’re seeing more dialogue on ovarian cancer in the media, and HERA has been able to award funds to promising science,” explains Stephanie Forte, a founding HERA board member. “Though there’s a long road to travel to find a solution to this disease, the outdoor industry deserves applause for enabling HERA to begin changing the future of women’s health.”

The HERA Foundation was founded in 2002. Since HERA’s inception, the organization has raised more than $900,000 for ovarian cancer research and awareness initiatives through events alone. Of these funds raised, 85 percent go toward medical research and awareness initiatives.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), ovarian cancer occurs in one in 72 women. In 2008, an estimated 21,650 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Currently, there is no reliable method of early detection, such as the mammogram for breast cancer. Funding scientific research is therefore vital in decreasing the number of lives lost. The NCI reports that 67 percent of cases are diagnosed after the cancer has already metastasized, when the five-year survival rate is only 30.6 percent.

About HERA Partners in ActionThe HERA Partners in Action program enables companies to “give back” a portion of sales from a product or group of products to the HERA Women’s Cancer Foundation. Designated Partners in Action products include hangtags that educate consumers about ovarian cancer facts and symptoms. Partners include: Bronwen, BlueWater Ropes, Etch, Evolv, Friksn, Fox River, MadRock, Omega Pacific, Petzl, Seattle Manufacturing Company and Women’s Adventure Magazine. Awareness Partners include Mountain Gear, Sterling Ropes and Stonewear. For more information, contact Stephanie Forte at Forte Creative Media, 702.898.2547.

HERA Climb4Life Seven Summit Sponsors: Black Diamond Climbing Equipment, BlueWater Ropes, Boulder Rock Club, Climbing Magazine, Colorado Mountain School, Evolv, Exum Utah Mountain Adventures, Forte Creative Media, Fox River, Liberty Heights Fresh, MadRock Climbing, Montrail (Visionary Sponsor), Mountain Hardware, Patagonia, prAna, REI, Sea to Summit, SIGG, Stonewear Designs, The North Face, Timbuk2 Designs, Urban Climber, and Women’s Adventure Magazine.

About the HERA FoundationThe HERA Foundation is a registered 501 (c) 3, whose mission is to stop the loss of mothers, daughters, wives, sisters, partners and girlfriends from ovarian cancer by empowering women to take control of their health, empowering the medical community to find new directions in ovarian cancer research and empowering communities to provide support. For more information, visit www.herafoundation.org.

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