Readers Respond: Summer 2016

Recent feedback on articles from our June and July issues.

 


Never forget

I want to thank you for the eloquence and insight of “Service and Sacrifice” (June, page 8). In an ideal America, every adult should have a copy of it. For me personally, it quickly reminded me of that day in 1966 when I was in room 205 at Alexis I. duPont High School teaching American history. It is still vivid to this day half a century later. I hear a loud scream out in the hallway. Quickly I stepped to the hallway. A student had just learned her boyfriend’s older brother had been killed in Vietnam. He would be the first of three A.I. boys I knew and taught or coached to die there. It is not possible for anyone who hasn’t lost a family member in war to fully comprehend what such a tragedy means, especially to parents or spouses. Thank you for your editorial.

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—Edwin S. Zippe​, Wilmington


Twin Poets, cancer warriors

I was pleased to read the “Wilmington Twin Poets Provide Healing Through Art” article in the July issue of Delaware Today magazine. I know firsthand that the Twin Poets laureate, Nnamdi Chukwuocha and Albert Mills are not just talented leaders in the arts community, but they are helping to advocate for victory in the fight against breast cancer in Delaware. 

In June, the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition partnered with the Twin Poets laureate to Turn Pink Into Action and share the story of our work in the community over the past 25 years. The video debuted at the Shining Light Awards in honor of our anniversary. 

As Nnamdi and Albert called for action against breast cancer so we can end deaths from this disease, they reminded us that “Breast cancer is a reason to fight, a reason to live, a reason to give.” Breast cancer kills over 40,000 women and men in the United States each year, and we are inspired to keep fighting on behalf of all the friends we have lost to the disease. 

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Our coalition started in 1991 as a small group of community volunteers committed to decreasing the mortality rate of breast cancer in Delaware. We have grown to become the only statewide organization solely focused on breast health issues as they affect the women and men who live here. Our programs have transformed over the past 2 1/2 decades. We provide one-on-one support and care to hundreds of newly diagnosed patients each year and deliver breast health education and outreach to many diverse populations. We have broken down barriers to identify and screen nearly 800 women with mammograms annually and offer the latest updates on breast cancer diagnosis and treatment from regional experts each year. 

This year, with the help of Nnamdi and Albert, we have recommitted ourselves to the fight to advocate toward victory over breast cancer. While the Twin Poets are widely recognized for mending broken communities and championing youth issues, they have also played a large role in helping to spread breast cancer awareness and turning pink into action. We are grateful to have their support and leadership. 

—Victoria G. Cooke, Executive Director, Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition


Correction

Dorothy Malinoski’s name was misspelled on page 104 of the July issue.

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