FAIR LAKES, VA - 1/22/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET) -- Bite Me Cancer, a national nonprofit that supports teens with cancer and funds thyroid cancer research, held a ribbon cutting for its new headquarters in the Fair Lakes Area of Fairfax, Va.,Thursday, Jan 21, 2016.
“I’m so happy and proud that we now have an office space of our own,” said Nikki Ferraro, the group’s founder, during Thursday’s ceremony, which was held as part of the group’s observance of Teen Cancer Awareness Week in Virginia, which was initiated by Bite Me Cancer in 2014.
“We’ve been successful since we began in 2010 and have been growing quickly– especially with our Teen Support Bag program. We needed a storeroom, an assembly room, and a more efficient shipping system. We get all of that here,“ said Ferraro of the group’s new headquarters in the AFCEA building.
While a junior at Chantilly High School, Ferraro started what would become Bite Me Cancer just weeks after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
In addition to providing support, encouragement and understanding for teen cancer patients primarily through its Bite Me Teen Bag project, Bite Me Cancer has also raised more than $160,000 to fund three thyroid cancer research grants.
Thyroid cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer among children between the ages of 15-19 in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health. It’s also the eighth-most diagnosed cancer among adults according to the American Cancer Society.
Each Bite Me Cancer Teen bag includes a stress ball, a Bite Me Cancer baseball cap, a journal for writing and drawing, a water bottle, an iTunes gift card, a USB drive, a game book and a Bite Me Cancer car magnet.
The group’s goal for 2015 was to deliver 1,000 teen bags. It surpassed the goal by 20 percent, delivering 1,200 bags. Now in its 4th year, the teen bag project has served more than 2,200 teenagers in nearly 70 hospitals in 29 states and in the District of Columbia.
In addition to Ferraro and other Bite Me Cancer board members, several local dignitaries took part in the ribbon cutting including Fairfax County Supervisors Pat S. Herrity and Kathy Smith; Jim Corcoran, CEO of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Eileen Curtis, CEO of the Dulles Chamber of Commerce.
Bite Me Cancer’s new headquarters is located at 4400 Fair Lakes Court, Suite 40, Fairfax, Va. 22033.
To learn more about Bite Me Cancer or to find out how you can volunteer your time or give money to support the group’s mission, please visit www.bitemecancer.org or email info@bitemecancer.org. Written correspondence, donations as well as requests for Bite Me Cancer Teen Support Bags can also be mailed to Bite Me Cancer, 4400 Fair Lakes Court, Suite 40, Fairfax, Va. 22033.
Media Contact
Company Name: Bite Me Cancer
Name: Leslie Ferry
Email Address: leslieferry@gmail.com
Website: www.bitemecancer.org