Pink Warrior Dash raises funds with run

By PAMELA GRANT

Cove Leader-Press

Copperas Cove City Park was decked out in pink Saturday as members of the community gathered for the 10th annual Pink Warrior Dash to run/walk in to raise cancer awareness with many participating in honor or memory of a loved one.

“It’s fun. We have a good time,” said Julie Moser, founder of the Pink Warrior Angels. “We’re all just laughing and living. It’s a great sound.”

The Pink Warrior Angels teamed up with Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful to combine their Pink Warrior Dash with KCCB’s trash pickup event. Both events took place at City Park from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. with registration for the dash starting at 7 a.m.

Mandy Simmerman, Copperas Cove Walmart manager, attended the event in a unicorn costume along with Taylor Doyle from Killeen Walmart #407 to support the Pink Warrior Angels. Walmart provided water, bananas, oranges, and granola bars for the event.

“Cancer affects the community,” said Simmerman. “Personally, cancer has affected my family. I know the feeling of heartbreak for families. To be a part of something like this, being able to give back, help out, and help pass the word along is great. What Julie does for the families makes me want to help. She inspires me…I think it’s important for people to have emotional connections, to know that you’re not alone, that you have support. If you come together, you can face anything.”

Pink Warrior Angels founder, Julie Moser, said that she appreciated the continued community support and the collaborations that they’ve build over time. Moser said that the Pink Warrior Angels help “bridge the gap for those who may not be income qualified”. 

She said that they help by providing chemo care kits and by helping with tasks that build up or might be forgotten. Moser said that the families go into survival mode, and it’s their job to help make things easier for them.

Moser added that she was running in honor of Amber Gorman who always participated in the group’s annual Pink Warrior Dash events.

“Amber loved doing this,” said Moser. “She was the person who went everywhere with me. She was a young, 40-year-old mom, and that’s the reality of stupid cancer. It doesn’t care who you are—whether you’re married or not married, money or no money. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t discriminate at all.”

Several members of Gorman’s family including several friends participated in the dash in her honor with many of them wearing shirts emblazoned with “Amber’s Pink Skies”.

It feels good because she did this every year,” said Isiah Ortiz, Gorman’s son who completed the dash in her honor Saturday. “We wanted to keep her legacy going with this.”

Gorman was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2019, going through several radiation and chemotherapy treatments before entering remission. Sadly, the cancer came back and spread, eventually taking Gorman’s life earlier this year in May.

Ortiz encouraged readers to be there for anyone going through cancer treatments and to make sure you do your self-checks.

“She was definitely a fighter. She was very caring and always there for someone,” said Ortiz. “She would never let anyone be down about her diagnosis.”