B4BC wrapped up nine action-packed days at the Vans US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA for our 13th consecutive year. Between our Check One, Two ™ outreach, sunshine, the surf, skate, and BMX contests, we had a blast!
Throughout the week thousands of beach-goers stopped by our educational booth to learn about early detection and prevention. Using our jelly breast molds, we taught women/men & people of all ages how to check themselves & what to look for. We also had a ton of booth visitors who wanted to join our prevention pledge movement by promising to themselves to make healthier lifestyle choices.
Outside of the booth, B4BC team riders Malia Manuel & Allysha Bergado were slaying it on their boards. Malia surfed her way into the semi-finals before bowing out to the eventual US Open champ Tyler Wright. Allysha was surfing the concrete bowl in the women’s Van Doren Skate Invitational and took a solid 4th place! To see more photos from the Van Doren Invitational skate contest, check out this album from our friends at MAHFIA. Amazing riding from the ladies all around.
Other highlights from the week included having a local Huntington Beach breast cancer survivor volunteer with us. Her name is Denise and she first learned how to check herself at our B4BC booth many years ago. She signed up to volunteer to giveback by sharing her experience and teaching others about the importance of early detection. Thank you Denise!We also met a young woman who had been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 12. Her name was Brittany and she was stoked to see us out there talking to young people about being their own advocates!
All in all it was a great week at the Vans US Open of Surfing and we’d like to thank VANS & IMG for allowing us the opportunity to come out for our 13th year now!We also want to thank our incredible volunteers who helped us along the way, we could not do this without you! So THANK YOU: Maggie Gonzalez, Lili Strasser & friend Alyssa, Jessica Baker, Nicole Laygo, Hope Selevan, Andrea Du Bois, Tori Beaudette, Katy Pandolfi, Jen Verrochi & friend Amy, Rebecca Schneider, Jen Cribbin, Sara Rodriques, Megan Taylor, Eliza Gesten, Tina Seliga, Tzili Hod, Kassidy Hansen, Denise Cross, and Breana Hope. Xo
