Ninth annual LIFE Event brings another $500,000 to the cause; funds benefit the Val Skinner Foundation and programs that drive “Young Women’s Initiative.”

Thirty-two LPGA pros including world no. 1 Lorena Ochoa, Hall of Fame members, Beth Daniel and Karrie Webb, and top-ranked players such as Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lincicome, Nicole Castrale and Sherri Steinhauer came together for the ninth annual LIFE (LPGA Pros in the Fight to Eradicate Breast Cancer) Event on May 19. The event, hosted by LPGA veteran Val Skinner, raised $500,000 for the breast cancer fight. This year’s event brings the cumulative funds raised by LIFE for the breast cancer cause to $4.5 million.

Held again at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., the LIFE Event benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the LPGA’s official national charity and largest private backer of breast cancer research and education, and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. Together, Skinner and these beneficiaries created the “Young Women’s Initiative” — a multifaceted approach to educating young women and other audiences about the risks associated with breast cancer and the importance of early detection. Komen and CINJ programs funded by LIFE move this initiative forward.

“The LIFE Event is an opportunity for LPGA friends, event partners and beneficiaries with a common desire to play a role in the fight against breast cancer to come together to make a difference,” said Val Skinner, event founder and host. “This one-day event results in powerful programs that are changing the future of the disease.”

LIFE Event partners include: the Joe Plumeri Family, Merrill Lynch, Emblem Health, Guy Carpenter, QualCare and Roche. Other notable supporters are: Assured Guaranty, Commerce Bank, The ACE Group, Ortho Biotech, Citigroup Smith Barney, Marsh, New Smith, GUND, Inc. and Lincoln Mercury.

Skinner will host a second LIFE Series event in the fall in Hilton Head, S.C., which will raise an additional $500,000 for the cause. Collectively, both events will bring the first LIFE $1 million annual donation to the cause.

Skinner founded LIFE after the loss of her friend and fellow LPGA golfer, Heather Farr, who died of breast cancer in 1993 at the age of 28. For more information about the LIFE Event or Val Skinner Foundation call 866-882-LIFE or visit www.valskinnerfoundation.org .

Source: Val Skinner Foundation

Web site: http://www.valskinnerfoundation.org/