Preparations are in high gear for Middleburg's Third Annual Nanette's Walk to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer. With a new location, day and time, the Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Fund's two-mile walk will kick-off on Sunday, September 27th at 1:00 p.m. in the parking lot behind the Middleburg Bank and Post Office located at 111 West Washington Street.

This year, the Fund will be holding an "In the Pink" contest in which women, children, men, and dogs on leashes are all invited to dress up in their favorite pink ensemble. Registration will begin at 1:00 p.m. with the contest and judging commencing at 1:15 and the walk starting promptly at 2:00 p.m.

Nanette's Walk has three major sponsors: Applied Knowledge Group, Inova Loudoun Hospital and The Graham Companies, who along with our other sponsors make it possible for all registration fees to go directly to the Fund's charitable work. The Fund is also happy to announce that Middleburg's Town Council, in partnership with the Middleburg Business and Professional Association, has voted to conduct the Second Annual "Paint the Town Pink" campaign. Pink bags will be placed over Middleburg's 173 parking meters on Saturday and Sunday, September 26th and 27th, with an appeal to patrons to donate their parking fees in pink donation boxes located in Middleburg's shops and restaurants. These boxes will remain in these businesses through the month of October in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Nanette's Walk is a tribute to Nanette Hewett White, a beloved civic leader and long time member of the Middleburg community, who lost her ten-year battle against breast cancer in 1999.

Since 2007, the fund has raised nearly $100,000 in which one hundred percent of the proceeds are distributed to breast cancer organizations and hospitals including Fauquier Hospital, FISH, the Loudoun Community Health Center, Breast Cancer Network of Strength, Blue Ridge Hospice, Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers, and Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Institute.

The Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Fund was formed in memory of the late Cheryl Clayton Atkins, a 2003 victim of breast cancer. The Fund was founded by her husband, James, and is led by breast cancer husbands, sons, daughters, survivors and friends. Its mission is to raise funds for breast cancer prevention and early detection through screening and education; provide support and community outreach to those individuals and families facing breast cancer in Loudoun and Fauquier counties; and advance scientific research in the fight to eradicate breast cancer. The Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Fund is placed with the Piedmont Community Foundation, a 501c (3) organization.

To participate in Nanette's Walk or donate to the fund, please visit our secure website, www.cherryblossombreastcancerfund.org.