Thank you for supporting the 2024 Celebration of Angels! Because of you over $200,000 was raised in support of the Mary Jo Cropper Family Center for Breast Care.
A special thank you to the Celebration of Angels Title Sponsor, The Cropper & Miniard Families! This event would not be possible without their continued support.
A night of support that brings lifelong impact
This event has generated over $3 million since it’s inception in 2011. This has led to the ongoing support for the entire continuum of care for breast cancer patients – from prevention and treatment all the way through survivorship. Proceeds from the event have allowed the Cropper Center to add lifesaving technology including the TriHealth Mobile Mammography Van, which provides over 3,000 mammograms annually and ProFound AI which serves as an extra set of eyes for radiologists and increases the sensitivity of finding cancer by 8%.
Pictured left: Amy Kimble, Kelly Corcoran
Congratulations to our 2024 Mary Jo's Angel Award recipients, Dr. Beth Dektas and Bill Schwartz!
A Mary Jo Angel is...
Gracious, kind, compassionate, generous, inspirational. These words have often been used to describe Mary Jo Cropper, who succumbed to breast cancer in 2011. Mary Jo left behind a legacy to our community: the Mary Jo Cropper Family Center for Breast Care. Her sensitivity to people dealing with cancer was remarkable. We want to honor Mary Jo’s life and memory by recognizing those people in our community who mirror her compassion and grace.
Background image: Sarah Case, Julie Arrowood, Beth Dektas, Lauren Dickman, Katelin Graziano, Nicole Bunke, Destiny Powell, Bailey Schwartz
Both Angels were in attendance with their families and friends, along with an entire room of guests who were excited to honor these two individuals. Spencer Cropper and Amy Miniard (Mary Jo’s children) welcomed the guests to dinner after cocktail hour, and shared the legacy of their incredible mother.
Background image: Lori Anstaett, Jeff Daniher, Ronda Koehler, Michele Heckle, Emma Heckle
This event wouldn't be what it is today without the life and legacy of Mary Jo Cropper.
Mary Jo Cropper immediately connected to the heart of Bethesda North Hospital’s breast center when she accompanied a friend to an appointment. Having battled breast cancer for 15 years, Mary Jo was impressed and overwhelmed by the staff’s warmth and expertise.
Mary Jo felt a deep connection to women suffering from breast cancer. She knew her financial support could make a difference and her generous gift to help establish a new center, named in her honor, transcended a donation. The gift reflected her hope to save as many as possible from experiencing what she had gone through.
A quiet and unassuming person, Mary Jo never sought the spotlight with her generous gift to the breast center – rather she downplayed her role by saying, “I’m just honored to be part of it.” She was the epitome of grace, dignity and generosity.
Proceeds from the 2024 Celebration of Angels will benefit an upgrade of our existing localization technology which is used in breast cancer surgery.
We currently utilize implanted magnetic seeds (Magseed) paired with an external probe (Sentimag) to guide the excision of tumors that cannot be detected by physical exam. Recently, the 3rd generation Sentimag was released which features several upgrades including a more precise probe, which in turn will allow for more accurate surgery. This is an upgrade to existing technology at the Mary Jo Cropper Family Center for Breast Care.