NEWBURY PARK, CA (BRAIN) Monday April 2 2012 12:00 AM MT—Emily Gresh, a 40-year-old Connecticut wife, mother, fund-raising professional and cancer survivor, is the winner of a bike design contest sponsored by Liv/giant and the Young Survival Coalition.
The contest, held last October, challenged young breast cancer survivors to design graphics for a special-edition Liv/giant Avail road bike. The winner’s design would be applied to a bike, the sales of which would benefit the Young Survival Coalition.
Gresh's design had a theme, "Inspire."
“The origin of the word ‘inspire’ is actually to breathe in or to take in,” Gresh said. “Though today we are more likely to think of it in its common motivational sense, I love the notion of the word being rooted in simply breathing in. Even in our most difficult and private moments, we still have that power, to breathe in. For me, the word ‘inspire’ on the bike speaks to both the very personal experiences that go with breast cancer and the great power of a visible community. It acts as a reminder of what is possible in life, and in living post-cancer, and how much support we have to help us through.”
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Emily Gresh -
The Liv/Giant Inspire
“Emily’s story and her bicycle design touched all of us so much,” said Elysa Walk of Giant USA. “For several years we’ve been a sponsor of the YSC Tour de Pink bicycle rides. We learned in her design application that Emily decided to ride the East Coast Tour de Pink while she was recovering from her surgery. Her eloquence as she related her story and the theme she incorporated into her design for the Avail Inspire seemed to speak directly for breast cancer survivors and their families.”
The limited-edition Liv/giant Avail Inspire is on sale now at select Giant bicycle retailers, with a sugested retail price of $1,360. Ten percent of the proceeds from the sale of the bicycle as well as Inspire-themed Liv/giant jerseys, socks, and water bottles is being donated to the Young Survival Coalition.
The 2012 YSC Tour de Pink East Coast ride rolls from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., September 28–30, and the Tour de Pink West Coast event rolls from Thousand Oaks to Foothill Ranch, California, October 12-14.
