NEWPORT NEWS -- Valaida Anderson and Ellsworth Cartwright met each other on Christmas Day 2010.
Cartwright’s niece made the introduction, believing they would make the perfect couple.
Less than a year later, Anderson and Cartwright will join hands in marriage in the first wedding ever held at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday October 15.
Anderson, a breast cancer survivor who just turned 60, says the wedding's theme is Survivor, Hope and Love. Most of the people in wedding party are breast cancer survivors.
"My message to them is we will survive regardless of what were going through. We will keep hope alive and we will love again,” says Anderson.
Anderson uses the words “love again” because, at one point, she thought she would not be able to do that. You see, she's also a former victim of domestic violence and she vowed never to marry again.
That changed when she met Cartwright. He’s a widower whose wife suffered from breast cancer. Anderson says Cartwright is her perfect match because he understands the illness, unlike her first husband.
“I had to have a bilateral mastectomy and my spouse wasn’t prepared for that. The marriage spiraled down after that,” says Anderson.
She now counsels both battered women and breast cancer patients and tells them she’s a living witness to why they should never give up hope.
That dedication is what Cartwright likes most about Anderson.
“The struggles she went through; the things she looks forward to doing and how committed she was to the cancer thing, how committed she was to battered women. This is a committed woman, “ says Cartwright.
Much of the wedding has been donated. Anderson’s dress will come from Maya Couture. But Anderson has no plans to keep it. She wants to pass it on to other breast cancer survivors from state to state.
“When I was in the dressing room trying it on, I saw several breast cancer survivors in that dress,“ explains Anderson.
She will be the first to wear it Saturday at 10:00 a.m. The ceremony will happen at 31st Street at the Oceanfront, following the 5K race, which starts at 8:35 am.
According to race organizers, up to 75 percent of the funds raised remain in Hampton Roads to provide breast health research, diagnostics, screening, treatment, services and education for uninsured or underinsured women.
Race for the Cure Schedule:
Pre-Race Expo at Virginia Beach Convention Center-October 14
1:00-8:00pm- Packet Pick-up and Sponsor Expo. Teams will also get the opportunity to take their team photos here, so plan accordingly.If you have not registered for race, you will be able to do so here as well.
Race Day Events
7:00 - 8:45 am -Day-off Registration (note: participants who are pre-registered MUST pick up their packets at the Pre-Race Expo at the Virginia Beach Convention Center on October 14, 2011).
7:45 am - Survivor Group Photo
7:55 am - Opening Ceremonies and Survivor parade
8:30 am - 5K Race - Wheelchair
8:35 am - 5K Race- Recreational run/walk
9:25 am - 1 Mile Family Fun Walk
10:00 am - Kids for the Cureâ 50 Yard Dash
10:15 am - Circle of Promise Ceremony
10:30 am - Awards Ceremony
10:45 am - 2:00 pm - FREE Race After Party at Neptune's Park with live bands. Refreshments available for purchase.
