New Hope Woman Bundles Flowers for Breast Cancer Survivors
A New Hope woman and her team play a special role in the Race for the Cure. The event raises money for breast cancer research.
But another event has already taken place in Jo Fachman’s New Hope garage. An assembly line formed and 80 people arranged and bundled several thousand floral bouquets destined for the race. They’ve been doing this for the past 17 years.
“I’ve kind of built a monster out of this,” said Jo Fachman. “It’s gotten really big. A few of these people had their arms twisted the first year, but they all come back willingly.”
They all come back because you just can’t say no to Jo.
“I have been constantly amazed by Jo and everything that she does,” said volunteer Nancy Manning. “I said she’s a force to be reckoned with and she is. She accomplishes things that I don’t think anybody would even try to start.”
A Breast Cancer Survivor Herself
Jo happens to be an expert in flowers. She’s a former florist with the right connections. When it comes time to plan for this event, she calls in a few favors.
“I’ve gotten good at begging,” said Jo.
She’s so good, that every one of the flowers came free of charge.
The floral arrangements are bound for the survivor tent at Sunday’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure at Southdale. Making people happy is part of the reason Jo does this year after year. She’s a breast cancer survivor herself and knows how much this means to people.
“I do it for others. I enjoy doing it for me because I know how much the people appreciate it,” said Jo. “So we’re going to do it for as long as we can.”
As long as Jo gets the donations and people are willing to help, she says this well-oiled machine will keep on churning year after year.
“This is just a little symbol of, there’s always hope. There’s always life.”
