Stratford, ON – With their hearts on their sleeves and their bras on the outside, the Braz for the Cause Fling’em for Breast Cancer Gala was another great success! This event has raised $90,000 in seven years to help women in financial need who are undergoing breast cancer treatments. This grassroots charity provides short-term assistance with the costs of child care, taxi fares, nausea medication, wigs and other items not covered by health insurance. The Fling’em for Breast Cancer Gala attracts many loyal participants including Shannon Doell, a REALTOR® with Sutton Group - First Choice Realty Ltd.*

For the fourth year in a row, Shannon took the initiative to recruit participants and arrange a work area at the Meadow Run Game Club where they could create their costumes, socialize and enjoy food and refreshments. This year, they were named “The Milk Momma’s” and the costumes included nursing toy babies!

“The first year, I didn’t know what to expect so we went to the gala in differently decorated bras,” says Shannon. “We get more creative each time and challenge ourselves to come up with original costumes for a great fundraiser! We were the Tahiti Flashers the second year and the Minions in 2014. The original members of our group are now recruiting friends, daughters and mothers to join in the fun.”

The women involved generously donate not only time but money. In addition to a gala fee of $40 per person, this year, Shannon asked each member of her group to donate a bottle of wine to be auctioned off for the charity. There were also unique, individual contributions. “Ann donated Alpaca clothing from her business, Becky donated fly fishing lessons and I donated pink-themed purse/slipper prizes.”

“Every year, more and more ladies get involved in donating items to the silent auction,” says Shannon. “It was such a big hit and a heart-warming feeling knowing that their donations are helping out. It is a pleasure to help out this local charity every year and I can not wait to see what we can accomplish in 2016!”

For more information, please visit: www.brazforthecause.com.

Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 9,000 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide. To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com. To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.

Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. Contact:

Melissa Mungall - 604-691-1655 - stories@suttonspirit.com

Sutton Group - First Choice Realty Ltd.* Contact:

Shannon Doell - 519-271-5515 - sdoell@sutton.com

Sutton Group - First Choice Realty Ltd. is an independently owned and operated brokerage.

Please click here to download the press release

Stratford, ON – With their hearts on their sleeves and their bras on the outside, the Fling'em for Breast Cancer gala was another great success!  The event raised $17,700 to help breast cancer patients with the costs of wigs, prostheses, palliative care, child care, and other expenses not covered by standard health care plans.  Nearly 350 women participated in this year’s key fundraiser for Braz for the Cause including Shannon Doell, a REALTOR® with Sutton Group - First Choice Realty Ltd.*

For the third year in a row, Shannon took the initiative to recruit participants and arrange facilities where they could work on their costumes.  The response was very positive and once again, 15 women joined her in the quest to assist local cancer patients.

This year, their costumes were inspired by the ‘minions’ from the movie Despicable Me and featured bright tutus and bras.  The costumes were almost as much fun to make as they were to wear!  In 2013, their theme was Tahiti Flashers (pictured above).

“There are so many charities involved in cancer research, which is very important, but I love that this event helps local, Stratford patients,” says Shannon.  “These are our friends, our family, our mothers, our aunts who are getting direct help from the event.  I also love to do things locally so it’s nice when you go to the dinner and even though this is a very large group, I know quite a few of them because Stratford is a small, tight-knit community.”

“Thank you to the wonderful women who were part of this group.  In addition to paying to attend the gala, which was an excellent event, some of us also donated prizes for the silent auction.  I look forward to the next Braz for the Cause!”

Over the past six years, this gala has raised $77,000.  The London Health Sciences Foundation distributes the funds to breast cancer patients with uninsured expenses that on average total $220 per month per patient.

Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 9,000 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide.  To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com.  To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.

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Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. Contact:

Melissa Mungall                  604-691-1655              stories@suttonspirit.com

Sutton Group - First Choice Realty Ltd.* Contact:

Shannon Doell                     519-271-5515             sdoell@sutton.com

*Independently owned and operated brokerage

Please click here to download the press release.

It is estimated that more than 22,000 women in Canada are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Even in Ontario, where the provincial government covers many medical costs, the average out-of-pocket expense for women in treatment for breast cancer is $213 per month.  Shannon Doell, a sales rep with Sutton Group – First Choice Realty in Stratford, Ont. gathered more than a dozen friends and family members, created costumes (included flashing bras) and participated in a unique Braz for the Cause fundraiser.

“This is a popular event that sells out fast.  I started signing people up in January then we picked a theme – this year we were the Tahiti Flashers,” says Doell. “Everyone wears bras outside their clothes and ours had little LED lights that flashed and we wore hula-type skirts.  Aside from the entry fee and creating our costumes, we also pooled our money and bought a donation prize for the table for the raffle.  The evening included dinner, entertainment, a live auction and a raffle.”