Dana Romano Photography

The  Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure is a formidable physical challenge, and everyone has their own reasons for doing it. For some, its to support a friend or family member who’s struggled with breast cancer. For others it’s even more personal – many of the walkers are survivors themselves. For Joanne Harrington,  a businesswoman from Washington Township, it was simply a desire to help raise money for a cure. She’d been kicking the idea around for a few years, but what finally hooked her were the commercials.  “It’s true,” she smiles. “I got sucked in by those commercials that they start running in January.” So in the spring of 2006, inspired by the Walk for the Cure TV ads, she enlisted her friend Kym Rizzo (“I wasn’t going to do it alone”)  and together they signed up for their first  Philadelphia 3-Day. 60 miles of walking in three days.  “I don’t know what I was thinking, ” she says.  “I’ve never been an exercise person –  never have been. So 60 miles?”

Harrington (top row, center) with her J-Walkers for the Cure.

Word got out to her other friends, and before long she had a group of 15 women signed up to walk with her. She decided to establish the group as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, and the ‘J-Walkers for the Cure’ was born.

That was 2006.  Since then, the J-Walkers have been involved in 10 walks, most of them in Philadelphia, but  they’ve also walked  in Seattle, Tampa and San Diego. Looking ahead to next year, Joanne and Kim are already planning to participate in the San Francisco 3-Day in September, as well as the October walk in  Philadelphia.

To get in shape for her first walk, Harrington followed Komen’s suggested training schedule, and was glad she did.  “You can’t wake up and go to the walk and expect to do 60 miles,” she warns.  “You need to make sure you train – even if you’re a runner.”

Harrington walked in 2006 and 2007, but after a back surgery for previous condition, the walking became a challenge, so now she works on the crew, manning the pit stops, and helping out in other ways. This year she and her friend Joanne Faccenda (the other J in the J-Walkers) drove a ‘sweep’ van, which loops around during the three days picking up walkers who need a break.  They outfitted themselves and  their van in a ‘pajama party’ theme, and had a blast.

Harrington, with Philadelphia Police Officer Patrick Owens, at a recent fundraiser.

Along with the physical challenge, walkers face another obstacle – the entrance fee.  Each walker has to raise $2,300  just to participate in the event. Harrington says the first year it was easy enough to ask their friends and family to contribute.  But  realizing they couldn’t  keep coming back to the same people year after year, Joanne has organized group fundraisers to help the J-Walkers get the money together.  She’s orchestrated golf tournaments, bingo games, beef and beer raffles, and more.   In 5 years she and her J-Walkers have raised $350,000 for Komen.  Along the way, she’s discovered a hidden talent she may never have discovered otherwise.  “I finally found out  what I’m good at in life.” she says, “and that’s fundraising. It’s given me a new direction.”  She’s also learned that she’s got what it takes to be a leader. One year she actually had 30 people on her J-Walkers team, and it took a huge amount of organizing.  “We all live in different places with different schedules, and you have to have meetings.  They used to call me the e-mail nazi because I was constantly sending emails.”

Harrington, far left, with J-Walkers at this year's Philadelphia Walk for the Cure.

All of this she’s done while running her own business, the Harrington Insurance Agency in Washington Township.  Her friends will tell you she never stops.  “I guess I just enjoy it,” she says. “ I’m always trying to think of something fresh, something that’s never been done before, to make a difference.”  And even though she’ll probably continue to do the 3-Days, she’s already thinking bigger.  Last year she acquired a new office building, with lots of extra rooms (a few of them even painted pink) Her dream is to create a support center for cancer survivors, complete with computers for internet research, and other services like fittings for wigs and undergarments, and therapy groups.  She’s already applied for a $45,000 grant to get the project going. She’s hoping it will be a way to make a very tangible difference in the lives of cancer patients.  “That would be awesome,” she says.