On June 14, Maryann’s Pink Warriors, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting and bringing awareness to breast cancer, held its first Pink Home Run Derby in Cinnaminson. While the event typically takes place in October in Mt. Laurel, word of mouth brought the event to the annual Cinnaminson baseball tournament and allowed Maryann”s Pink Warriors to honor three local breast cancer survivors, Bridget Anne, Peg Mcgough and Maria Lynn.
“It was a beautiful evening,” said Mcgough. “The Cinnaminson community was very supportive, and Kelly’s (Neri) organization honored me and a couple other women that had breast cancer. They got in touch with me because Kelly had been at the high school and approached my son who told her that I had cancer.
“It was really wonderful to be a part of the event,” Mcgough continued. “There are many women that suffer from cancer, and this organization gives them resources on how to get help because with treatment come side effects. Everyone has some kind of side effect. I was so happy with the turnout.”
Kelly Neri, co-founder of Maryann’s Pink Warriors, created the organization with her siblings in memory of their mother, who lost her battle to breast cancer in 2013 at the age of 56. The Warrior team and co-founders consist of Stacey and Dave Lee, Ralph and Justine Green, Kelly and Brian Neri and Sean Green. Through their organization, Neri and her siblings strive to honor those still fighting, remember the ones who have passed and celebrate the local survivors. With help from their official sponsor, Unite for Her, they have been able to bring awareness to the resources that are available for women still fighting.
“Maryann’s Pink Warriors and Unite For HER cannot thank everyone enough,” said Neri. “Thank you for allowing us to not only bring awareness to these resources, but also to honor our three special women, Bridget Anne, Peg Mcgough and Maria Lynn. The turnout to support these women was just overwhelming.
“This is our mother’s legacy and I couldn’t have been more proud of last night,” Neri continued. “Cinnamisnon made this event event bigger than I could have ever dreamed it could have been and I have already been asked to come back next year to make it even bigger and better.”
According to Neri, their goal was to raise $5,000 to sponsor a New Jersey wellness day, however, the organization surpassed its goal and raised just about $6,000. For Neri and her siblings, the Cinnaminson community showed up and allowed them to continue to honor their mother’s legacy although, next year will need to be tweaked a little.
“The changes that we need to make next year include having two or three fields to handle the volume of the boys and girls that came out to participate,” said Neri. “That’s the biggest one because we never expected the number of kids that came out. Also, we’ll have to get the link out sooner to register so we have less sale day registrations. This will ensure everyone gets a shirt.”
For those looking to get involved in the next Home Run Derby, Maryann’s Pink Warriors will be holding its annual event in Mt. Laurel in October. More information will be posted on its Facebook page as the event gets closer.
