Robineau Media was featured by CNY Central for our partnership with Hope For Heather.

Robineau Media was featured by CNY Central for our partnership with Hope For Heather.

SYRACUSE, NY — The cancellation of the 2020 New York State Fair was disappointing to fair attendees and meant a loss for businesses.

For nonprofit organizations, it meant a loss in donations but also missing out on raising awareness for important causes.

Hope for Heather Ovarian Cancer Awareness tells CNYCentral that missing last year's Fair meant less chances to reach people with life-saving information.

Each year, Hope for Heather estimates it hands out more than 60,000 awareness cards and teal ribbons, according to Frieda Weeks, executive director.

After seeing news stories about this "missed opportunity" last fall - Robineau Media co-founders James Hunter and Catherine Alton decided to take action and reach out to Weeks.

"I just think cancer this is terrible thing. I think more people need to be educated on it and there's so much more we can do whether it be just sharing our time," Hunter said.

Weeks said working with a Black and woman-owned business was also important as Hope for Heather tries to reach all communities with ovarian cancer awareness.

Alton says she and Hunter started to notice many clients needing different strategies because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I don't think anybody realizes the [racial] disparity for ovarian cancer," Weeks said. "There is a 46% survival rate for five years for white women - 36% for black women, so we really need to get the word out. Robineau Media has really helped us...getting that word out and that's what we've needed to give us a great boost in saving lives - saving lives together.”

Weeks says Hope for Heather also launched a new website hoping to make it more accessible and welcoming for people to find much-needed resources. To view the new site, click here.