I cannot believe that a year has passed ... and I'm writing to you again about the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. Last year, sharing this experience with my sister Linda was extraordinary. We laughed, we cried, we shared a weekend together neither of us will ever forget. This year, I will be participating in the San Jose to San Francisco walk, July 28-30, 2000. My husband Greg has agreed to join me ths year, acting as a crewmember for the event.

You need to know how important this event is! This year, 175,000 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer. And more than 42,000 will die. These 42,000 are not strangers ... they are our mothers, our daughters, our aunts, and yes, our uncles too! The pledges we raise for this event help to fund programs tha provide support services for women and men undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

I struggle to put down in words ... how this event has changed my life. The people I have met, the life experiences they have shared with me ... intimate details of thir struggle with breast cancer themselves ... or watching loved ones cope with this disease. I have shared stories with them ... sweet remembrances of fun times with my cousin Kim, a breast cancer survivor ... watching my friend Mary struggle these past four years ... a strong, brave hero of mine ... still fighting hard ... missing my Aunt Lois ... wishing she was still here ... laughing, smiling, sharing her wisdom with me.

It is an honor to be walking with and for these men and women ... knowing that we ARE helping to make a difference.

Avon has helped to raise nearly $100 million dollars for breast cancer research in the past 6 years. These walks (there are 7 of them this year throughout the US) contribute nearly $5 million dollars each to this effort. Your generosity in the past has helped me achieve my fund raising goals.

I'm enlisting your help again in this fight against breast cancer. Please consider making a fully tax-deductible pledge, by June 15th. Thank you, thank you for your generosity.

Warmest Regards,

Janice Raab