TRIADELPHIA — The quilt for the Cure initiative annually stitches together partners in the Ohio Valley with patches of comfort, all in an effort to encourage those in the battle against breast cancer.

To support this year’s activities, representatives from Wheeling Hospital, Neighborhood Ford Store, Jim Robinson Ford and Triadelphia Middle School were on hand Oct. 1 at the Triadelphia Ford dealership for a special presentation and announcement to kick off Breast-Cancer Awareness Month.

This year’s program actually began in October 2019, when the partners visited Triadelphia Middle School to discuss with students how youngsters could help out when a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt or neighbor is in breast-cancer treatment. The students also were offered the opportunity to decorate squares of comfort and encouragement. The squares were then made into Warrior Quilts by Neighborhood Ford Store Volunteer Sue Brichacek of Brentwood, Pa., who donates her time and talents to the Quilt for the Cure program, the regional outreach of Ford Motor Company’s Warriors in Pink philanthropy.

“This October certainly is different than last year, but even during the current pandemic, it’s important to get an annual mammogram,” Wheeling Hospital CEO Douglass Harrison said. “COVID-19 isn’t pausing breast cancer: 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12.4%) will develop invasive breast cancer, according to the WVU Cancer Institute. Women who delayed screenings earlier this year because of coronavirus restrictions are urged to schedule their mammograms now. Early detection can lead to better outcomes.”

In addition to important medical advice from Wheeling Hospital, the region’s 80 dealers of Neighborhood Ford Store, Ford Motor Company and the Ford Motor Company Fund announced that a donation of thousands of personal protective equipment (PPE) disposable face masks was given to Wheeling Hospital.

“This donation is part of a national initiative by Ford and its philanthropic arm, the Ford Motor Company Fund, to manufacture and distribute 100 million masks to nonprofits, schools, veterans and other at-risk communities facing shortages of personal protective equipment,” said James Robinson of Jim Robinson Ford, who also is on Neighborhood Ford Store’s Board of Directors.

Among the participants were James Robinson, Jim Robinson Ford, Triadelphia; Sue Brichacek of Brentwood, Pennsylvania, Quilt for the Cure volunteer; Anne Coleman, Triadelphia Middle School principal; Gabe Wells, Ohio County School District; Kyla Morris and Bonnie Funkhouser, Wheeling Hospital.

About Neighborhood Ford Store: Neighborhood Ford Store is an organization of the region’s 80 Ford dealers. The territory includes western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, north and central West Virginia and the panhandle of Maryland.