Duane Reade supports Race for the Cure

NEW YORK Manhattan-based pharmacy retailer Duane Reade is supporting the 2007 Komen New York City Race for the Cure by handing out limited edition pink Duane Reade bags starting on Tuesday.

Duane Reade chairman, president and chief executive officer Rick Dreiling and Komen Greater NYC executive director Donna Lawrence officially unveiled the pink bag at a press event Monday morning at the Duane Reade located at Broadway and 50th Street.

Customers will receive their Duane Reade purchases in the limited edition bag through Sept. 9, the date of the 2007 Komen New York City Race for the Cure in Central Park.

The initiative is in conjunction with the "City in Pink" event whereby 19 structures throughout the city will be illuminated during the week-long celebration.

According to Lawrence, this year’s race is expected to be the most successful in its history—surpassing the record-setting $4.2 million raised in 2006. Monies raised from the race will be used to fund education, screening and treatment programs for underserved women in the Greater New York City metro area, as well as national and local research for the cures.

One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. In 2007 alone, there will be more than 200,000 people diagnosed, and more than 40,000 will die.