Braz Cauz for Breast Cancer Awareness

ORANGE CITY, FL-October 7, 2010 - When Ivette Gonzalez of Deltona, a breast-cancer survivor currently in treatment, delivered her Braz to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial Foundation, she was accompanied by her two young daughters, Ana and Olivia. The trio had worked on the Braz, a frothy confection embellished with hundreds of pearls and pink ribbons, as their donation for Braz Cauz, a fundraiser to help uninsured women receive mammograms.

Their Braz, "Pink Ribbon," is one of more than 65 meaningful works of art available for bidding online at www.brazcauz.cmarket.com.

This is the second year of Braz Cauz, created by Shawn-Marie Batchelder and Susan Bauerle, two breast-cancer survivors who wanted to raise awareness for early screening. Last year, proceeds from the online auction of the Braz and community donations raised $10,000.

Braz Cauz is more than just a fun way to raise money. Many of the men and women who created an entry have an intimate connection with breast cancer: they are either survivors, like Ivette Gonzalez, or they created a Braz in honor of a survivor, as did Heathrow resident Joanne Brake.

In "Gators Stuff ’Noles," Brake says she wanted to make it appear as though the "Gator was stuffing the bra with Noles (’feathers and all!!)" She dedicated the whimsical Braz to her mother-in-law, a breast-cancer survivor who "used to be an unfortunate Noles’ fan but finally saw the light," Brake says. This Braz includes a pennant signed by Steve Addazio, Offensive Lines Coach/Assistant Head Coach for the Gators.

Brake also contributed four other elaborate Braz, including one with signed MacKenzie-Childs art pottery pieces, and a ZeBraz, a diorama that features a charming fenced-in quadruped.

Casselberry’s mother-daughter duo Marty Whipple and Kate Elliott-like many of this year's artists-once again donated their talents this year. Their creation, "Time for a Cure," features deconstructed vintage time pieces. Tiny gears, hands, faces and stems adorn nearly every surface on the Braz, giving the message, they say, that "the time is now for a cure for breast cancer."

A group of DeLand artists who dub themselves the "Hot Flash Gals" worked collaboratively on "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Bra." The artists (Holly Young, Becky Mason, Kathi Truba, Diane Gates, Celesta Permar, Jill Hoblick and Sandy Mills) worked on the bra for a bit, festooning it with hand-made glass beads and baubles, and then passed it on to the next artist. "Countless hours" were spent on this Braz, say the artists.

Kathi Truba, who contributed to the afore-mentioned Braz, also created a glass masterpiece of a Braz, by hand-cutting and then fusing glass together at 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. She then molded, re-fired and sanded the Braz several times over, and over the course of many days. Truba says, "The new owner should display it proudly as a one-of-a-kind piece of art glass."

Bidding for Truba’s and the other Braz is available at www.brazcauz.cmarket.com and will continue through midnight Thursday, October 31, 2010. All proceeds will benefit underserved women with breast cancer.

Florida Hospital Fish Memorial is a 139 bed full-service hospital providing inpatient and outpatient services as well as 24-hour emergency and critical care and is a member of Adventist Health System, the largest Protestant not-for-profit hospital system in the nation. The hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Florida Hospital Fish Memorial is Chest Pain Accredited the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The hospital has been recognized by FMQAI - The Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Florida with the FMQAI Performance Achievement Award. This honor recognizes Florida Hospital Fish Memorial on work to improve the quality of health care for Medicare beneficiaries during the last three years. The hospital has also been recognized for the sixth consecutive year among the 2009 Orlando Sentinel's Top 100 Companies for Working Families. For more information about Florida Hospital Fish Memorial visit www.fhfishmemorial.org