By Janice Lane Palko

“I really think we’ll hit it,” said Diana Napper, president of the Glimmer of Hope Foundation, when speaking about her organization’s nearing the $1 million mark in fundraising for breast cancer research. Since its inception in 1994, the Glimmer of Hope has raised approximately $800,000 to battle the leading cause of death from disease in women of reproductive age.

Napper knows all too well how devastating breast cancer can be.  Her best friend Carol Jo Weiss Friedman lost her life to the disease in 1990. Carol Jo had always urged Diana to put her talent for designing jewelry to use, and before her death, she made Diana promise to pursue that dream, and after she became successful, to take the money and open a hospice in her name. 

This promise led to Diana’s creating the Glimmer of Hope pin, a teardrop Swarovski crystal (symbolic of the tears shed over the disease) and topped with a pearl (representing hope).  To date more than 14,000 pins have been sold. The battle to beat breast cancer takes funding, and The Glimmer of Hope Foundation has been instrumental in raising money to underwrite breast cancer research. To meet that need and to respond to requests, Napper now also offers two different types of Glimmer of Hope bracelets and a money clip.

In addition to the jewelry proceeds, the foundation receives much of its money from its main fundraising event, The Bid for Hope.  The Bid for Hope, a charity auction, is a fun-filled, celebrity-packed night.  The sixth annual Bid for Hope VI 2007 will be held this year on Monday evening, October 29, at the Jerome Bettis Grill 36 on the North Shore from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m.  Once again, six-time pro-bowler Steeler Alan Faneca and wife, Julie (with Napper, left, in photo), will host the event.

Napper and the Fanecas have been busy obtaining sponsorships, items for auction and commitments from celebrities for appearances at the Bid for Hope VI.   Tickets to the event are $200 per person and include a gift bag with an autographed football signed by Alan Faneca #66, as well as a #66 hat.  Both items are suitable for additional autographs. 

Some of the fabulous items up for auction this year are a Range Rover from A&L Motors; a Steel Curtain jersey autographed by Steelers greats Joe Greene, L. C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White; a Jack Lambert autographed Steelers helmet; and a Mario Lemiuex autographed Penguins jersey. 

Napper lauds the Fanecas for their dedication to the cause of defeating breast cancer.  “Organizing the Bid for Hope is a year-round job,” Napper said, “and I couldn’t do it without Alan and Julie’s help.”

Although Napper is determined to wipe out breast cancer for all women, she is particularly passionate about finding the cause, preventing and curing breast cancer in premenopausal women.  Unfortunately, younger women, when diagnosed with breast cancer, face a far grimmer future, as they are more likely to die from the disease than older women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Through The Glimmer of Hope Foundation’s efforts, this past December, Napper and the Fanecas were pleased to present the Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) with a check for $100,000 that The Glimmer of Hope raised.

In partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and Magee-Womens Hospital, MWRI is involved in basic and clinical investigations to assess a full range of issues related to breast cancer, including a focus on the effects of the disease on women of childbearing age. 

Researcher Paniti Sukumvanich has been doing research at MWRI on issues related to younger women and breast cancer.  And recently, the funding from the Glimmer of Hope has made it possible to enroll women in an under-age-40 breast cancer study.  “We have been working hand-in-hand with MWRI to have the questions about younger women and breast cancer addressed,” Napper said.  “We were able to present the questions that we want answered and a study was devised to investigate those areas.”

Besides being a tireless fundraiser, Napper has also become an educator.  “Diana is extremely knowledgeable about breast cancer.  She is always searching and finding the best research on the subject,” Julie Faneca said.

It is Napper’s knowledge and passion for finding a cure for this disease that has also made her someone many women with the disease turn to for answers.  “Often we get calls from women wanting advice.  I’m happy to help any way I can,” Napper said.  “These women are so much braver than I can ever be.”

For more information on The Glimmer of Hope and how you can help it to reach the $1 million mark, the jewelry or the Bid for Hope VI 2007, visit the website at:  www.glimmerofhopepin.org.  To order tickets by phone, call 1-800-454-6746.

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