The Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation’s Power of Pink Luncheon in Roanoke is a fun, elegant afternoon of dining, educating and survivor/fighter/thriver celebrations that is not to be missed.

The event is at the Hotel Roanoke and begins with a reception from 11 to noon, during which you can browse our mobile auction and purchase your chance for Unlock the Cure. At noon, we will be seated for lunch and enjoy hearing from a local speaker and a keynote speaker. We will wrap up at 1:30!

This year's keynote speaker is Kristen Dahlgren.  Dahlgren is an award winning journalist turned Breast Cancer advocate and founder of the nonprofit Cancer Vaccine Coalition.  For the first 30 years of her career, Kristen traveled the world, documenting some of the biggest news stories of our time.  She reported for NBC Nightly News and NBC's Today show, was nominated for an Emmy award for leading the network's coverage of the Parkland School shooting, served as a backup anchor for Lester Holt, and won an Edward R. Murrow award for her feature reporting.  In 2019, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and immediately decided to share her story to help other women to recognize the different ways their own cancers could present. Through her reporting, Kristen also learned about the research that was happening on Breast Cancer vaccines. After a conversation with UW Cancer Vaccine Institute's Dr. Nora Disis, Kristen realized that vaccines for breast cancer were no longer a "Pie in the sky" idea but something that was close and achievable. She couldn't stand by and watch anyone else suffer. CVC is partnered with the nation’s top vaccine and cancer researchers with a goal of getting a safe, effective breast cancer vaccine to market in 5 to 10 years.  CVC has one mission: to move science forward faster. To do so, CVC works to fund trials, streamline the process, remove barriers to success and ensure ALL breast cancer patients are represented in trials. 

For years, Joey has been a community advocate for breast cancer awareness. Through her women’s magazine, Bella Magazine, Joey led the charge for 15 years by educating and advocating for the community about women’s health and issues directly, serving on many committees and boards in many volunteer capacities.

During this time, Joey had friends diagnosed with breast cancer, fight breast cancer, and regrettably, too many losing their battle to breast cancer. All the while, educating the community to have their mammograms and becoming their own health advocate, walking miles and miles for breast cancer awareness and research, and shouting from the mountaintops for women to have mammograms.

Fast forward to Fall 2023, when Joey herself had her normal annual mammogram, which showed small ‘white dots’ that, in turn (through a biopsy), were Stage Zero DCIS. Her ‘breast cancer’ was caught so early it hadn't even become a stage of breast cancer yet! Being educated and adamant about having yearly mammograms since the age of 40, Joey caught what would've become breast cancer down the road and took care of it immediately.

One year ago, Joey joined the “breast cancer survivor sisterhood” beside many dear friends and will always be a champion for advocating for yourself and having yearly mammograms because she caught her breast cancer before it became breast cancer.

VBCF is doing important work across the entire state of Virginia. Each year there are 7,800 women and men in Virginia who are diagnosed with breast cancer and 1,150 women and men who die from breast cancer. The money we raise through events like the Power of Pink Luncheon is used to provide Virginians with knowledge and a voice on the breast cancer journey. We offer funding for screening and diagnostic breast health services for uninsured and underinsured in SWVA; individualized resource coordination; free breast health educational materials; newly diagnosed, caregiver, and survivorship packets and advocacy for improved health public policy and research dollars for the state.

VBCF is a 501(c) 3 organization as determined by the Internal Revenue Service with federal tax identification number 54-1633519. Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.