Mt. Pleasant gazebo decked out for breast cancer awareness fundraiser

Not long after Val Tressler was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided she needed to get to work not only helping herself but others as well.

“I was diagnosed at 43, and I have a mother I lost to breast cancer and an aunt who is also a survivor,” Tressler said.

Tressler will be a 10-year breast cancer survivor in November and is the owner at Val’s Family Styles in Mt. Pleasant.

Nine years ago, Tressler began decorating the gazebo at the corner of Washington and South Diamond streets, decking it out in pink during October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Two years later, Denise DeSabato, owner at StukUp Grafix in Mt. Pleasant, joined her. Together, they’ve partnered with the borough, local business owners and residents to raise money for Glimmer of Hope, a Pittsburgh-based breast cancer foundation started in 1994.

In the past two years, the monthlong event has raised more than $4,500 through the purchase of customized signs that are displayed at the gazebo, T-shirt sales and donations.

“I lost my grandmother and a close friend to breast cancer,” DeSabato said. “So when I learned what (Glimmer of Hope founder) Diana Napper had started, I wanted to help. She lost her best friend to breast cancer as well, so we instantly connected.”

Customized signs can be purchased for $25 throughout the month, and T-shirts are sold for $10.

DeSabato and StukUp Grafix donate all of the materials, so the full sale amount can be given to Glimmer of Hope.

“We also usually do a ‘Bid for Hope’ event in October,” DeSabato said. “But because of covid, we aren’t able to do it, so that makes this extra important for us this year.”

And while October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, DeSabato doesn’t discriminate.

“We’ve done signs for leukemia and other cancers as well,” she said.

DeSabato said she can’t thank borough council, the business community and Mt. Pleasant residents enough for helping make the fundraiser a success each year.

“We’d love to see a cure in our lifetime, and we’d like to be a part of that,” she said.

To purchase a sign or T-shirt, or make a donation, call StukUp Grafix at 724-547-2222, or Val’s Family Styles at 724-547-5113.