Breast cancer patients inspire OOFOS to develop Project Pink program for Dana-Farber

A blog written by the employees of OOFOS

Five years ago, Duncan Finigan, Head of Brand at OOFOS and our very first employee, was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and began treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute under the care of Dr. Eric Winer. The life-changing diagnosis propelled Duncan into action and inspired OOFOS co-founders to find a way to help others like Duncan.

As a company, we decided to take a portion of each sale on our website and donate it directly to the breast cancer research team at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, through our Project Pink program.  Through Project Pink and Duncan’s experience at Dana-Farber, we’ve been able to connect with individuals across the country who have been touched by breast cancer in some way and it continues to drive us to do what we can each day to fund research. 

Unfortunately, we lost Duncan in May of 2019, but we’re more committed than ever to funding breast cancer research at Dana-Farber. To date, OOFOS has proudly donated over half a million dollars to Dana-Farber and we don’t intend to stop until there is a cure. 

Being a corporate partner of Dana-Farber has been an amazing experience for all of us on the OOFOS team. The doctors, nurses, researchers and staff at the Institute are an incredible group of professionals who are making a difference in so many lives. Seeing the work that they do each day to help patients feel better is impactful. It reminds us why we’re raising money for a world-class research hospital. Our partnership has afforded us the opportunity to work together to spread the word about our program through supporting the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, Jimmy Fund Golf Tournaments, and spending time with patients at the hospital.

We are particularly fortunate to have been able to spend time with two phenomenal Dana-Farber patients, April and Sharon, who are currently in the midst of their journeys with breast cancer.

In October, April and Sharon visited the OOFOS corporate office to share their stories with our team and learn more about us. Hosting April and Sharon at our office was an experience that impacted our entire group.

“One of the pillars of what we call our OOsoul is ‘inspirational’—and I think I speak on behalf of the entire OOFOS team that these women are true inspirations. We were all touched by hearing their stories of living with breast cancer and how new treatments at Dana-Farber are continuing to help them live their lives to the fullest each day,” said Lou Panaccione, our co-founder.

Steve Gallo, our leader and president, shared, “We are so inspired by what April and Sharon are doing to raise money for research in their own circles and we are looking forward to working together on our collective mission to fund research at Dana-Farber, and someday very soon, find a cure.”

April and Sharon have amazingly positive attitudes and it is a privilege to welcome them to our extended OOFOS family.