A Mount Vernon FT contingent was one of 22 local unions that walked in the 'Making Strides' fund-raiser in the lower Hudson Valley.

With all the attention on Sept. 11 relief efforts, Sheila Goldberg worried the response might be poor for the union's contingent at the American Cancer Society's annual fund-raising walk to fight breast cancer.

But more than 1,000 union members from 40 local groups walked under the "Nassau - NYSUT Cares" banner at the five-mile Jones Beach event Oct. 14, raising more than $72,000.

"Even at this trying time, I think we all found great joy and comfort in walking together for a common cause that affects so many of us," said Goldberg, who coordinated the Nassau - NYSUT contingent with fellow retiree activists Myrna Kaplan, Toni Vitelli, Jane Montgomery and Louise Rosenthal. "And we're still collecting and counting."

NYSUT members across the state participated in similar October events.

The statewide union served as an official sponsor at both the Jones Beach event and in Westchester County, where about 350 NYSUT members raised more than $39,000 in a walk at Manhattanville College in Purchase.

The Rochester Teachers Association rallied for the cause starting at Frontier Field wth 200 educators raising nearly $10,000. "We were pretty aggressive about getting schools involved and we had a wonderful turnout," said RTA coordinator Jennifer Tomm DiPasquale.

Since 1993, "Making Strides" walks have become the American Cancer Society's premier fund-raising events. Last year, more than $26 million was raised in more than 70 walks. For more information about cancer or to get an early start on planning for next year's fund-raising, call (800) ACS-2345 or log on to www.cancer.org.

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