HERS Breast Cancer Foundation
In briefAI summary — tap to read
Tina Fernandez Steckler, executive director of HERS Breast Cancer Foundation, presented the organization's 25-year mission to support breast cancer patients in the Bay Area with post-surgical products and services regardless of financial status. HERS provides postsurgical camisoles, breast prosthetics, compression sleeves for lymphedema, wigs, and insurance support to patients through three locations in Alameda County and serves all nine Bay Area counties.
Key takeaways
- HERS Breast Cancer Foundation was founded in 1998 by three women with a vision to support breast cancer patients' healing and body positivity following surgery, and the acronym stands for Hope, Empowerment, Renewal, and Support.
- The organization provides comprehensive post-surgical support including front-fastening camisoles, silicone breast prosthetics, compression garments for lymphedema management, and wigs, with all products available in multiple skin tones and styles to serve diverse patients.
- HERS operates with a $1.2 million annual budget, 15 full and part-time employees, and dozens of volunteers, providing free office visits and filing insurance claims for patients while maintaining a commitment to treating all patients with dignity regardless of insurance status or income.
- The foundation raises funds through two major annual events: the People with Purpose Gala and a September walk-run-yoga event that kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, plus community partnerships and creative fundraisers.
- HERS emphasizes year-round breast cancer action beyond awareness, encouraging lifestyle changes, regular mammograms, and connecting patients to resources like Every Woman Counts for free screening services in California.
About Tina Fernandez StecklerTina Fernandez Steckler is the executive director of HERS Breast Cancer Foundation, managing the organization's development, marketing, and direct patient services across three Bay Area locations.
AI-generated from the meeting recording — AI can make mistakes, so check the recording for anything important.
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF Jan 1, 2024
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: HERS Breast Cancer Foundation
Speaker: Tina Fernandez Steckler
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
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Message from our president
Greetings Members and Friends of Rotary e-Club of Silicon Valley. As President of our Club, I want to welcome you all today.
Weekly Funny with Shags
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
My Wife's Birthday
It was my wife's birthday and she rang me to see what time I would be home.
"Can't talk," I said, "I'm driving."
"Where are you?" she asked.
She wasn't happy when I said the 7th tee.
Inspiration
Every week we share a short video highlighting innovation, education, entrepreneurship, or whatever we think might inspire you to see the world in new ways.
Sometimes it's inspiring to know that there are people who can turn a passion into something amazing. Even if it's wacky cars. Enjoy the terrific tinkering of Sudha in this video shared by Shags!
Learn something new
Past, Present, or Future?
Here's a whimsical video that's rather interesting. "A Reverse Video that is not in Reverse. All footage (including the window) was captured on camera in one take."
Club news
Members
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During the holiday season, many of our members joined with local Rotary Clubs and District events in their communities. What did you do this season that we can share? Send your photos to Mike with a brief description.
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Is your latest information posted on our ClubRunner Members site at: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/8370/Page/ShowHomePage. After logging in, please be sure to access the MyClubRunner tab, and select My Profile. Please update your personal information here, which automatically updates our club directory.
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Your Service Hours reporting will now take you directly to your ClubRunner Login and Entry for Volunteer Hours. From this point forward, your Service Hours will report to Rotary from ClubRunner.
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TRF and EREY - There’s still time to consider your gift to Rotary for the annual TRF Fund. There are several ways to give: outright payment (Check or Credit Card), monthly payments billed to your credit card, allocation to several funds, etc. Our TRF Chair, Phil Dean will be in touch with us soon regarding your pledge and methods for collecting. Our Club is striving to be designated as “Every Year, Every Rotarian”. Your gift matters, either a small amount or a large amount (that is up to you - we will never tell you how much to give). A portion of our Annual fundgiving will come back to us for our DDF usage.
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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: 1 January 2024
What a US$1,000 dollar contribution can do - A contribution of US$1000 helps provide seven toilets in Sri Lanka. More than 2.6 billion people still lack access to proper sanitation. Most people in the developed world do not think about their sanitation system unless it is not working properly, but in Sri Lanka, many people lack access to proper sanitation facilities. The Rotary Club of Ja-Ela Kandana, Sri Lanka partnering with the Rotary Club of Madras Northwest, India took the matter into their own hands and obtained a Rotary Foundation Grant to provide sanitation to a small community comprising 15 families. They built fourteen toilets, providing the families with proper sanitation. This will ensure a reduction in illness and increase the health and wellness of this community.
The impact of US$1,000 is significant. Think about that the next time you donate to The Rotary Foundation.
Here is why EREY is important to our Club: Did you know that Rotary conveys a special honor to each Club that achieves 100% member participation contributing to TRF? The award is called Every Rotarian, Every Year (EREY). This year, we ask that you consider a pledge to the TRF Annual Fund in November of at least $25 which will qualify your participation and count towards our Club achieving this honor. Also, please note that the District will have two drawings to encourage donations to the Annual Fund. For the first drawing, each Club will get chances in the drawing based on their total giving. The more each Club donates the better the chance of winning. The prize is significant as it is $5000 in DDF, worth $9000 when used in a Global Grant. In order to support smaller Clubs and promote EREY, there is a second drawing where each EREY Club has an equal chance at a prize of $2500 in DDF, worth $4500 when used in a Global Grant. As you may remember, District 5170 had a record setting year in 2021-22, with over $1 million to the Annual Fund, followed by almost $1 million in 2022-23.
Your generosity is always voluntary and very much appreciated. This year why not help our Club achieve the EREY honor, and perhaps, as a result, we will have a shot at some extra DDF funds to continue funding our great service and work as Rotarians.
Remember, to achieve EREY, each Club member needs to make a contribution of at least $25.00 to the Annual Fund. We are happy to accept your check or credit card for the Annual Fund.
District 5170
Read the latest news from District 5170 - https://rotarydistrict5170.org
Service report
Tell us about the service you’ve done recently for the Club or in your community. Also, post here if you attended another Rotary Club meeting this week
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Service Project Opportunities
For upcoming club projects in District 5170, check out the District 5170 website. Also, if you have some time available for projects, be sure to let your local area Rotary Club know that you are available to volunteer for their upcoming projects.
Happy Dollars: do good by sharing something good
Each week we ask our members to share stories with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal of this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each fellow members and guests, while giving back to a good cause.
Happy dollars is an opportunity to share something positive that has happened in your life whether it is personal or business. Think of it as your opportunity to brag a little, but also put a little bit into a karma jar. The money donated through happy dollars is put to charitable use.
Send Happy DollarsProgram: HERS Breast Cancer Foundation
Speaker: Tina Fernandez Steckler
Every week we bring you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how those contribute to service to others.
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley seeks to explore perspectives on service from across the world. The views of the speakers in our programs are their own, and unless stated otherwise, are not necessarily reflective of the views of our eClub or Rotary International.
If you have an idea for a cool speaker, please feel free to reach out to them directly or submit THIS FORM so our Program Committee can contact them!
This week's speaker, Tina Fernandez Steckler, will present an overview of HERS Breast Cancer Foundation, this presentation includes HERS Breast Cancer Foundation history, mission, programs and services, outreach, needs, fundraising efforts, and community impact.
A Fremont resident since 1991, Tina has volunteered and worked for nonprofits since the early 2000s. Tina joined HERS in 2017 as Executive Director where her responsibilities include both organization management, development, and marketing communications.
A co-founder of the Tri-City Nonprofit Coalition, Tina is a past participant in the Fremont Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program and the Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance Executive Roundtable. A graduate of CSUEB with a B.A. in English Literature, Tina also has a Paralegal Certificate from St. Mary's College. She was formerly a member (2018-2023) of the Niles Rotary Club (Fremont).
She has been married to Craig Steckler since 2017 and has two children and one granddaughter.
Members and guests, please welcome Tina Fernandez Steckler!
To learn more, go to:
https://hersbreastcancerfoundation.org
Or watch this video:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hersbreastcancerfoundation
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hers_bcfoundation/
Twitter (X): https://vimeo.com/335481384
LinkedIn: https://vimeo.com/335481384
Email: tinaf@hersbreastcancerfoundation.org
Important Announcement - “Weekly Rotarian” Full Meeting Podcasts
Announcing: Our main program speakers are now available as audio podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week they are available on Spotify, Google, and Apple podcasts.
Or you can simply click below for this week’s speaker:
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Upcoming program recording schedule
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
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If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
