A Central Florida business owner is celebrating turning 40 by running 26.2 miles to benefit local cancer research.
Tara Huff, founder and CEO of Bashful Bliss, an Orlando-based apparel and accessories company, will run a marathon on Sunday and donate all proceeds to the UF Health Cancer Center.
Huff started the apparel company in 2009, designing glass tile necklaces geared toward teachers, breast cancer survivors and supporters, athletes and new moms.
"A few years later, I started designing inspirational and fun apparel with the goal of making someone happy," Huff said. "The motto for the company is that it is in the little things in life where bliss is found."
Huff said she plans to make her 10th marathon the most memorable one yet and has been preparing to run for more than a month.
Her fundraising goal is more than $5,000. She has already received $650 from friends and family members who have registered for the race.
"I lost my mother and my best friend at the age of 51 to breast cancer, and I am always looking for unique ways to support the fight against breast cancer," Huff said. "This marathon means a lot to me because I have chosen 26 different friends and family members to either walk or run with me."
Huff has designed a "Pink Ribbon Bee" T-shirt to fundraise for the event. The design is also available as a tank top, sweatshirt, hat, visor, necklace or pillow as a fundraiser.
The sales for the Pink Ribbon shirt started Monday, and Huff said she expects the sales to grow after the marathon and in the next few months after more people have heard the story and cause behind it.
Dr. Luis Herrera, thoracic surgeon and medical director of the Rod Taylor Thoracic Care Center at UFHCC Orlando Health, is a family friend of Huff’s and has known her for a few of years.
He applauded her efforts and said that they will make a difference.
"Philanthropy is important to cancer because National Cancer Institute funds are difficult to get, and government funding is so competitive," Herrera said. "Without it, it makes it hard to start up research without the preliminary data we need to start programs because that money goes toward supporting clinical programs and cancer research."
Marcela Brandao, development coordinator at UF Health Cancer Center, said philanthropy, such as running marathons like Huff, makes a tremendous impact on what they’re able to do.
Research requires a huge amount of money, and in order to make breakthroughs in research, the center really needs to have a big funding base, Brandao said.
"Grant money and other funding sources are harder to come by more than ever and we really do need private individuals to make the difference," Brandao said. "We really appreciate how our community really rises up and helps us with this. By helping us, they’re helping anyone who has ever been touched by cancer or anyone who will be touched by cancer in the future."
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 8/5/2014 under the headline "Woman celebrates birthday by raising cancer research funds"]
