We recently connected with Heather Salazar and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather , thanks for joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

My life changed forever after meeting Alexis, a 23 year old single mother who was raised in the foster care system and nearing the end of her battle with Stage 4 breast cancer. Alexis was looking for someone to raise her 9 month old baby girl. My husband Steve and I cared for Alexis through her final months and added baby Lexi to our family, giving us four kids under 8.

18 months later, at just 31 years old, I was diagnosed with the same aggressive breast cancer that took Lexi’s first mom. If it hadn’t been for Alexis, I wouldn’t have done that self-breast exam and found that lump. I would have been dead long before my first mammogram. Alexis not only gave us Lexi, she absolutely saved my life.

After a bilateral mastectomy, three months of intensive chemo and a year-long clinical drug trial, I was declared cancer free. I was so fortunate to be alive and to have had an entire army helping my family through our cancer journey, but I was haunted by the thought of Alexis taking the bus home from chemo and all of those who were battling breast cancer without support. I had to do something.

What started as a tiny non-profit serving just four families in Ohio, has now delivered over 1 million meals, offers a nationwide peer support network and provides practical support of free healthy meals, rides to treatment and housecleaning essentials to those battling breast and gynecological cancer in multiple regions of the country from San Francisco, California to Buffalo, New York. I put a purpose to my pain. Pink Ribbon Good is proof that tragic life events can be defining moments and become the catalyst for something good.

Heather , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

1 in every 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. And every 36 minutes someone learns that they have gynecological cancer. While we definitely need a cure for cancer, for those just diagnosed, research is too late. They need practical help with daily demands so they can simply focus on the fight.

Pink Ribbon Good exists to serve every person and family affected by breast and gynecological cancer by providing free healthy meals, rides to treatment, housecleaning essentials and a nationwide peer support network.

Based on my own experience, I know first hand that cancer is a beast and those in the fight for their life need every advantage they can get.

Pink Ribbon Good is my answer to cancer. No other organization offers this package of wrap-around services. And what we’re doing at Pink Ribbon Good (PRG) is making a difference. Those who receive our services have better treatment compliance and studies show the more closely someone follows their treatment plan, the better their cancer treatment outcomes tend to be.

(My answer for defining life moment on the previous question explains how I got into this industry.)

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I was a stay-at-home mom who just beat cancer. I had no idea what I was doing when I wrote my first grant. I had no business plan and zero proof of sustainability. Lucky for me, the man behind the grant believed in pipe dreams. I learned that I was awarded a grant from the Pink Well Foundation when it was announced on The Ellen Show. I was stunned.

This first victory taught me an important lesson. Always start before you are ready.

Pink Ribbon Good (PRG) started by providing free healthy meals, rides to treatment, house cleaning essentials and peer support to just four families in Ohio. Last year we delivered our 1 millionth meal and are so honored to support those battling breast and gynecological cancer in several regions of the country from San Francisco, California to Buffalo, New York. None of this would have been possible if I had decided I needed to get all of my ducks in a row before making my first move.

Have you ever had to pivot?

During Covid we heard more and more stories about those battling breast and gynecological cancer not knowing how they were going to feed their families. With schools closed, that meant there were many more meals that needed to be figured out since the school cafeteria wasn’t providing breakfast or lunch for many children. Can you imagine battling cancer during a pandemic AND not knowing where your next meal is coming from?

I decided this was my hill to die on. I wasn’t sure how we’d be able to afford it, but I knew something had to be done. So during the pandemic we didn’t cut services, we did the opposite. We provided even more meals each week to every family we served.

Again, I started before I was ready, I started shipping out the extra meals long before I had secured any of the funding to pay for them, but I knew it was the right thing to do and we figured it out as we went along. This pivot to provide more meals that I feared might sink the organization, actually had the opposite effect and strengthened our bond with many large donors.

When I would call up donors and explain we needed extra money to cover the cost of extra meals, they were all in. They understood the need and wanted to be part of the team that was doing more, not less, for people during this time. It was a pivot that paid off for our clients and our organization.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pinkribbongood.org
• Instagram: pinkribbongood
• Facebook: pinkribbongood
• Linkedin: pinkribbongood