Sharsheret Founder Named Yoplait Champion in the Fight Against Breast Cancer

Sharsheret Founder Named Yoplait Champion in the Fight Against Breast Cancer

Hackensack, New Jersey (July 31, 2003)— Rochelle Shoretz, Founder and Executive Director of Sharsheret, was named a Yoplait Champion in the Fight Against Breast Cancer. Ms. Shoretz was selected for her efforts in founding Sharsheret, a national not-for-profit organization linking young Jewish women in their fight against breast cancer.

The award, sponsored by Yoplait, Self Magazine, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, recognizes those who have demonstrated a strong and sustained commitment to the breast cancer cause, made personal sacrifices for the cause, illustrated a creative and innovative approach to furthering the goals of fighting breast cancer, and impacted others’ lives or the community. Yoplait will donate $1,000 to Sharsheret, and Ms. Shoretz will be recognized in the October issue of Self Magazine and at a two-day awards ceremony in New York City in September 2003.

Ms. Shoretz founded Sharsheret in the midst of her own chemotherapy treatments at age 28. A former law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ms. Shoretz was recently named a 2003 Woman to Watch by Jewish Woman Magazine, a publication of Jewish Women International. Her pioneering efforts in establishing Sharsheret have been recognized by Joshua Venture, an organization founded by the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation to support the efforts of a new generation of young Jewish leaders. Ms. Shoretz has served as a resource for major media on issues related to breast cancer in young women. She has appeared on The Today Show and CBS News, and in more than 20 articles published online and in newspapers across the country, including the Wall Street Journal.

Sharsheret is the only national organization of cancer survivors dedicated to addressing the unique concerns of young Jewish women facing breast cancer. Sharsheret’s Link Program connects young women with others who share similar diagnoses and experiences, comforting and supporting young women newly diagnosed, and empowering those breast cancer survivors who have volunteered to serve as peer supporters. The organization recently hosted its second medical symposium, “How Do We Care For Our Children? Issues for Women and Men Facing Breast Cancer,” at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.