Photo by Joselyn King The committee for the Think Pink dinner to benefit breast cancer patients on Wednesday presented a check for $50,000 to WVU Medicine-Wheeling Hospital’s Oncology Fund. Pictured from left are Melissa Mealy, oncology patient navigator; Michele Braley, supervisor of the Radiation and Oncology Department at the hospital; Julie Joseph, chairwoman of the Think Pink Committee, Douglass Harrison, president and CEO of WVU Medicine-Wheeling Hospital; and Jessica Rine, associate vice president of foundation and community relations at the hospital.

WHEELING — The annual “Think Pink” dinner last fall raised $50,000 to benefit breast cancer patients, and the money now is on its way to those who need it.

Julie Joseph, chairwoman of the Think Pink Committee, on Wednesday presented the check for $50,000 to the WVU Medicine-Wheeling Hospital radiation and oncology departments.

Sometimes families experience a loss of income due to the patient’s illness, and the money donated is used to purchase gas cards for them or maybe pharmacy vouchers, explained Melissa Mealy, oncology patient navigator at the hospital.

“Oftentimes we buy gift cards they can use for food,” she continued. “Those are the main things — transportation, food and prescriptions. It’s for anything that can help make life better for the patient and their families.

“It’s amazing and huge for us because we are very careful about how we spend the money and what it is used for.”

The annual Think Pink dinner takes place every October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the 2023 event was a sellout, according to Joseph. She said 320 attended the dinner, which also included raffles and an auction.

This year’s event is set for Oct. 17, and will once again take place at the White Palace at Wheeling Park. A committee of 11 people organizes the festivities.

Think Pink gatherings have taken place each year in Wheeling since 2004, and the first ones were luncheons that took place in the home of breast cancer patient Janie Altmeyer, Joseph explained. Altmeyer invited her closest friends to attend and help her raise money for breast cancer testing in West Virginia.

A special feature of the dinners was Altmeyer’s homemade lasagna, which continues to be served each year at the Think Pink dinner.

“It used to be a fundraiser to benefit breast cancer testing, but now it’s for things breast cancer patients need but otherwise couldn’t afford — such as wigs, gas cards … whatever their needs are,” Joseph explained.

Money raised through Think Pink also helped to fund the inaugural survivor’s retreat for breast cancer patients this year at WVU Medicine-Wheeling Hospital, she added.

“We were really pleased to fund that because it was a really successful event,” Joseph continued.

She called it a blessing to help in assisting breast care patients.

“The community is so supportive, and so generous, and it’s all because of the community that we are able to do this,” Joseph said.