Tipp City, Ohio—In the canal town of Tipp City, is Pink Ribbon Girls, an Ohio-based group that started in Cincinnati in 2003 as a support group for people battling breast cancer.

It has evolved.

Nine years ago, they began offering a variety of free services.

• The American Cancer Society estimates in 2019, more than 10,000 Ohio women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 1,700 will die from the disease
• PRG offers free services to people in Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton who are battling breast and gynecological cancer
• The group provided nearly 19,000 meals to Ohio families, and 4,800 rides to treatment

“We offer three meals a week for the entire family, house cleaning two times a month, and rides to treatment,” said Heather Salazar, CEO, Pink Ribbon Girls.

Heather Salazar is the CEO of Pink Ribbon Girls. Her path to lead the non-profit is not so much professional, as it is personal.

Years ago, her family adopted a young girl whose mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“She passed away one week after she turned 24,” said Salazar. “She rode home from her bilateral mastectomy on public transportation. The bus. She had zero support. You can't imagine what it's like for someone to really have zero support.”

Seeing the lack of support is what drives Salazar and the PRG mission.

But that's not all.

“I have two daughters that both have to worry about breast cancer,” said Salazar. “I have four kids who watched this young mom die and then I got the same disease, early stage – at 31. ERP negative, hard 2 positive, aggressive breast cancer.”

Pink Ribbon Girls provides services to individuals throughout the Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus areas.

Recently, the organization has expanded to St. Louis and San Francisco.

“We're a give where you live organization,” said Salazar. “So, all the money raised in each city stays in each city. And so, we couldn't do it without our community support.”

Financial support comes in a variety of ways—from corporations, private donations and foundations.

PRG holds a signature event “Ignite the Fight” in each city it operates in.

But the people are what really provide the support.

“We have this army of ambassadors of women who have gone through our services. We call them the PRG family and they march this beat for us,” said Salazar. “They're these crazy, strong women that stick around. I mean, some of them we served seven years ago and they're still at every event and they spread the word and they pay it forward for the next survivor, which is amazing.”

Salazar says they're working to become a national organization in three to five years. But they want to maintain their grassroots, hometown feel.

There is, however, one thing they hope for.

“The goal in all of this is would be that PRG is out of business. I mean, that's the goal,” said Salazar.

Until that so far elusive cure is found, the need exists—everywhere.

“The PRG family is everyone. It's not me, it's not our specific stories. It's every single person that's come together to move it forward,” said Salazar.

For more information about Pink Ribbon Girls, you can go to their website or call 1-877-269-5367.