This October, Marblehead turned pink, not just in color, but in spirit, as residents, businesses, and survivors came together to support the Ellie Fund and raise awareness for breast cancer patients and their families across Massachusetts.
The grassroots campaign, Turning Marblehead Pink, was spearheaded by Susan Hassett, a Marblehead resident and breast cancer survivor. In partnership with the Ellie Fund, a nonprofit that provides vital support services to individuals undergoing breast cancer treatment, Hassett and her team of nine transformed the town into a sea of pink — filled with hope, compassion, and community pride.
“Awareness is important, but we also want to educate and act,” Hassett said. “Our ‘October for Ellie’ campaign empowers communities to support patients directly through fundraising, education, and by spotlighting disparities in care.”
Hassett brought together a powerhouse committee of local women to help make the mission real. Including Margaret Bacon, Jansi Chandler, Francie Hill, Kathi Kaligian, Terrie Leake, Debbie Powell, Donna Rice, Noreen Rogers, and Marty Willis.
“I had a village during my journey,” she said. “But not everyone does. The Ellie Fund steps in for those women who don’t have a support system — and that’s what makes this campaign so important.”
Founded in memory of a mother who lived with metastatic breast cancer for 15 years, the Ellie Fund was created by her two sons to ensure other families wouldn’t feel the same isolation they experienced. Today, the organization provides grocery assistance, transportation to treatment, childcare, and meal deliveries — easing the daily burdens patients face during treatment.
Executive Director Meredith Mendelson explained, “We want to make sure patients can focus on healing, not logistics.”
For many families, that support has been life-changing. Lindsay Gardiner, a Marblehead resident and Ellie Fund recipient, shared: “The Ellie Fund wrapped my family in love when life felt its heaviest. They gave us hope, comfort, and strength. They showed me and my children that even on our hardest days, love and community can lift you higher than fear ever could.”
What began as an idea quickly grew into a movement. Nearly 100 Marblehead businesses — from restaurants and boutiques to yacht clubs and schools — joined in. Storefronts displayed pink balloons, posters, and banners that read “October for Ellie.” Old Town “was ablaze in Ellie pink,” Hassett recalled.
Unlike traditional fundraisers, the campaign’s first year focused on education and visibility.
“Our approach this year was all about awareness,” Hassett said. “That was my goal, and I think we did it in spades.”
The effort didn’t go unnoticed. Marblehead’s Farmers Market, Fall Fair, and The Landing restaurant all hosted Ellie Fund booths and events, sparking conversations and spreading understanding.
“According to the Ellie Fund, no other town has done it like Marblehead did,” Hassett said proudly. “This community really banded together.”
According to Kate Ward, the Ellie Fund’s Director of Development, Marblehead’s campaign has become the organization’s new model for community partnership.
“We’ve sat as a team and asked: ‘How can we replicate this in the next town?’” Ward said. “What Marblehead taught us is that finding passionate ambassadors — people like Susan and her committee — is key. They galvanized the effort, made personal connections with more than 100 stores, and created something deeply neighbor-to-neighbor.”
Ward emphasized that the Ellie Fund supported the effort behind the scenes with materials and guidance, but it was the local women who powered it forward.
“They took this to a level we’ve never seen,” she said. “They brought their town together around an issue and created real, lasting awareness.”
The results were measurable. Marblehead raised over $16,000 for the Ellie Fund — money that went directly to patient grants covering groceries, transportation, childcare, and other essentials. That same month, the organization served 30% more patients statewide than the previous October.
“Without communities like Marblehead, we couldn’t do it,” Ward said. “These women didn’t just fundraise; they gave access to care. They gave hope.”
Hassett said this was incredibly impressive, given that the group’s goal was mostly centered around raising awareness for the campaign. But after people learned what the Ellie fund was, they donated on their own accord.
For survivors like Marty Willis, the message behind Turning Marblehead Pink is special. Diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer in 2020 during the pandemic, Willis endured chemotherapy, radiation, and a year of immunotherapy. Today, she celebrates five years cancer-free and channels her gratitude into advocacy.
“I saw an opportunity to bring the community together on a positive note,” Willis said. “So many young women under 40 are getting diagnosed, and awareness is so important.”
Willis’ connection to the Ellie Fund and her continued activism also tie into her family’s annual participation in the Pan-Mass Challenge, a 200-mile cycling fundraiser for cancer research. Her story — and her resilience — embody the very spirit the Ellie Fund aims to uplift.
The campaign also gave local women a safe space to share their own stories — something Ward said was visible throughout the events.
“People came forward saying, ‘You helped me,’” she recalled. “It gave women a voice over a disease they’d been living with quietly. Suddenly, they saw a community ready to listen.”
From a mother who could send her kids to camp while she healed to a woman whose groceries were covered during treatment, Marblehead’s effort revealed the power of simple, human support.
With plans for a three-year rollout and new collaborations with Marblehead businesses, Turning Marblehead Pink is poised to become an annual tradition — and a blueprint for other towns across Massachusetts.
“There’s a real synergy here,” Ward said. “We want to build a toolkit from this campaign so other communities can replicate it and make it their own.”
Hassett said that in life, “we have many chapters. In those chapters are villages of friends and family. Some of those villages go through every chapter; some you get new ones. But those villages are what help people get through.
“The weekend proved to me that not only did I and the recipients of the Ellie Fund have a village of friends, but the town of Marblehead became part of that village.”
Hassett added, “Marblehead just came through 150%. I’m hoping that because it went so well, in the years to come, maybe the businesses that weren’t part of it will join in, and those that were will continue. Next year, we’d like to add things like raffles or a sip-and-shop. This year was really about encouraging people to get involved and spread the word.”
From the pink banners fluttering in the wind to heartfelt conversations at local shops, Turning Marblehead Pink has done more than paint a town — it has united one. It’s proof that awareness, when rooted in compassion, can become action.
As Marblehead continues to glow pink each October, it carries an enduring message:
Hope is stronger when it’s shared.
For more information or to get involved, visit elliefund.org.
