Fastsigns of Manchester Employee Doing Her Part to Create a World Without Cancer

Krissy Sullivan, Visual Communications Specialist at FASTSIGNS® of Manchester, CT, has become active in her local community as an Ambassador for ResearcHERS: Women Fighting Cancer campaign.

The inaugural campaign empowers women to fundraise in support of women-led cancer research. More than just a fundraising campaign, it’s a movement - a sisterhood of purpose determined to sustain women-led research and recognize the female trailblazers in the field. While the American Cancer Society has funded 49 researchers who have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize, none of them have yet been a woman.

Women make valuable contributions to cancer research, yet they are consistently underrepresented in the field. American Cancer Society aims to change that dynamic with the launch of ResearcHERS.

The organization held a virtual event on August 14, and the keynote speaker was national researcher Alpa Patel. The event was highlighted in several local news outlets as seen in the links here and here.

With support from their presenting sponsor Pfizer, female leaders from a variety of industries and sectors across the Knowledge Corridor, an area from Western Massachusetts and south through Hartford all the way to New Haven, have worked to fuel the work of women scientists, ensuring the unique perspective of women remains a powerful and growing force in cancer research.

As an Ambassador of the ResearcHERS of the Knowledge Corridor Campaign, Krissy has committed to raising funds to help the American Cancer Society save more lives from cancer and fuel the mission forward. Every dollar she raises will help fund women researchers whose innovative research ideas and dedication to discovering lifesaving breakthroughs are bringing everyone closer to a world without cancer.

Krissy joined this movement because of the losses both she and Joel Miller, franchisee at FASTSIGNS® of Manchester, CT, experienced in 2018. At just 33 years old, Joel's sister lost her fight with brain cancer, and two months prior, Krissy lost her beloved grandmother who fought 4 different rounds of cancer for over a decade. Krissy eagerly continues to help aid in the funding for cancer research so future generations won't have to experience losses such as this.

The American Cancer Society is proud to be a top supporter of women in cancer research. Currently half of ACS’s grantees are women, most of them early in their careers. ResearcHERS shines a light on the most exciting women-led cancer research projects in the field – and helps sustain the important work of these brilliant scientists.

“Throughout this campaign, I was able to virtually meet and mingle with some seriously amazing women, and it often moved me to tears,” said Krissy Sullivan. “Despite my best efforts, this year was a challenging time to seek donations and understandably so. I was so happy to learn what I was able to do, be a part of this amazing team, get the experience and gain motivation to continue being an ambassador for this group. We achieved our goal and actually exceeded the expectation, which made me hopeful about our mission!”