Health F 19
by Maria Canfield
On a very warm July afternoon, I met with Keith Fenimore, co-founder and executive director of the Pine2Pink Foundation, on the porch of Evolution Candy in the heart of Doylestown. It was an unusual place to hold an interview, but also highly illustrative of the relationship Keith has built with the local business community.
It was our first meeting, but Keith, a Doylestown native, greeted me as if we had known each other for years. He then popped into the store to say hi to the owner, Tracy Lamb, and to make sure she was okay with us using her porch for an hour or so. She was, and before we talked about anything else, Keith told me that Tracy was buying a machine so she could make and sell pink cotton candy, with the profits going to Pine2Pink.
Pine2Pink is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization launched in the fall of 2018 with (as Keith says) “an idea and nothing more.” Through a wildly creative, multi-faceted approach, it raises money for the benefit of local women in breast cancer treatment and recovery.
The highlight is the annual October-long “experience” (coinciding with Breast Cancer Awareness Month) during which Doylestown’s Pine Street is changed to Pink Street, exterior lights are turned pink, and “virtual” pink ribbons are hidden throughout the town for the community to find (more on that later). All of this, while fun, has a serious purpose—to drive donations from both businesses and individuals, with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward the cause.
Keith’s inspiration in starting Pine2Pink was his grandmother—who lost her battle with breast cancer many years before Keith was born—and his mother, Marianne, a 20-year breast cancer survivor. “My mother was only 18 when her mother died, and she had to finish raising herself. She’s been devoted to helping people her whole life. She is my role model,” Keith says.
A key decision, one that has to be made on an ongoing basis, is how to use the money that’s raised. Consistent with the collaborative approach that’s evident in all of his interactions, Keith says, “I meet with really smart people who are involved in the treatment of women with breast cancer and ask, ‘If I could give you a massive check, what would you use it for?’ I then listen to what they say.”
One of those smart people is Dr. Donna Angotti, Medical Director of the Breast Cancer Program at Doylestown Health's Cancer Institute. Since Pine2Pink’s inception, funds have been provided to the Institute for (among other things) out-of-pocket medical expenses and transportation costs, quality-of-life services such as reiki, yoga, acupuncture and massage, and the beginnings of a Cold Cap program (Cold Cap therapy is a drug-free, non-invasive technique of scalp cooling that can reduce hair loss caused by chemotherapy).
As busy as it keeps him, Keith has a work life outside of Pine2Pink. He is currently a marketing and content consultant, driving growth and strategic development for both a video/events production company and a digital marketing agency. He says, “I’ve had a cool career over the last 25 years but my work with Pine2Pink is the clincher. I’ve been able to take what I know and use it for the greater good.”
Keith recognizes that there are a lot of very worthy causes that deserve people’s attention and money, and that new approaches are needed for Pine2Pink to gain and retain traction. His experience allows him to rewrite the script on fundraising, to “turn people’s heads and get them to engage.”
One of Pine2Pink’s most notable engagement-inducing approaches, as touched on earlier, is the “capturing” of virtual pink ribbons placed in businesses throughout Doylestown during October. The Pine2Pink app, available for free download on both Google Play and the App Store, is a scavenger hunt, re-imagined for the digital age. As players move throughout town, the app alerts them as they near—and then capture—a ribbon. A chance to win prizes, donated by sponsors, partners and local community members, can be earned for those capturing the most ribbons. (This year, there are expected to be close to 100 prizes, including two round-trip airline tickets to anywhere in the United States, and a $1,000 cutlery set by Cutco.)
As unique and immersive as the month-long October experience is, it’s far from the only source of dollars to help the women who benefit from Pine2Pink. The “Pink Gala,” a dance sponsored by the Mount Carmel Chapter of the Knights of Columbus was held this past March, raising $10,000 for the cause. The “Pine2Pink Yogathon,” presented jointly by Sun Dog Yoga and the Mercer Museum, was held on the museum’s lawn on September 22. Envisioned to be an annual event, the Yogathon featured a day of outdoor yoga taught by instructors from local studios.
There are also “proceed splits” on products sold by local businesses, and contributions from large sponsors and individual donors. The community has contributed in ways even the uber-creative Keith could not have imagined. For example, the Doylestown-based real estate firm Class-Harlan donated $100 for every settlement held during October 2018, resulting in a donation of $1,400.
Another idea that originated from the community is the Pine2Pink Café, opened in May of this year in the Oncology Center of the Doylestown Cancer Institute. The brainchild of Doylestown resident Frank LaRusso (son of a breast cancer survivor, Jeannine, and director of strategic initiatives at coffee giant Lavazza) the Café offers free and unlimited coffee, tea, and specialty drinks to patients, visitors, and staff.
Keith spoke with emotion about this year’s Doylestown Memorial Day Parade. Pine2Pink invited two dozen local women, in various stages of breast cancer treatment and recovery, to ride on their float. “It was incredible to see these women cheered by thousands of people from their own community,” Keith says.
While gratified by the overwhelming support he has received (“I very rarely hear no”), Keith is not surprised. “I always felt Pine2Pink was going to be a success,” he says. “The challenge now is to grow it in a smart, strategic way, and to maintain our high standards.” Keith wants to take Pine2Pink to small towns nationwide; this has already come to fruition in New Hope and Peddler’s Village. “Small towns are vested in the wellbeing of their community members and take ownership, in the way that big cities just can’t,” he says.
Illustrating the importance of small-town focus, there will be more than 25 product offerings benefiting Pine2Pink throughout Doylestown, New Hope, and Peddlers Village during the whole month of October; these include pink popcorn from Clusters Handcrafted Popcorn and pink cupcakes from The Lucky Cupcake Company.
Keith is well aware that the singer Pink (birth name Alecia Moore) is from Doylestown. He would love for her to become involved in some way, and says, (modifying the famous quote from Field of Dreams) “If we build it, Pink will come.”
To learn more about Pine2Pink, visit their website at www.pine2pink.org.
Maria Canfield is a local freelance writer and the co-founder of Your Words Your Story, a memoir and pet-tribute creation service.