How this Rockville Centre mom's creative idea produced over $10,000 for breast cancer awareness
Members of the Rockville Centre Breast Cancer Coalition hold a breast cancer awareness banner: From left, Susan Napolitano (VP Operations), Erin O'Sullivan (Co-President), Peg McDonald (Co-President) and Kristen Stucchio-Suarez (Score for Breast Cancer originator). Credit: Real Smiles Photography
Pink apparel for breast cancer awareness is as synonymous with October as candy is to Halloween.
However, a thought crossed South Side parent Kristen Stucchio-Suarez’s mind: what if there was a better way?
“Teams are always thinking about how we can raise awareness for breast cancer, and usually the answer is, ‘Let’s buy something pink,’ ” Stucchio-Suarez said. “And that’s great — I understand the importance of having that visual branding — but you have to start thinking that so much of this money is actually not going to the women who need it most. It’s going to the manufacturers and the retailers.”
The idea was simple: Allow people to pledge money for every goal scored or shutout recorded by South Side’s boys and girls varsity soccer programs. Her son, Luca, was on the team before graduating in 2026, and her daughter, Madalena, is a junior.
Stucchio-Suarez pitched the unique fundraising system to athletic director Pat Maguire, who loved the idea. They raised over $6,500 in 2025.
“The work Kristen put in was so appreciated,” Maguire said. “The kids got into it, the community was invested and it was an important initiative for a well-deserved cause.”
In 2026, Stucchio-Suarez expanded the system to include 20 South Side teams, including junior varsity squads, and raised $10,250 in October. The money went directly to the Rockville Centre Breast Cancer Coalition as people pledged donations for every Cyclones win linked to the team of their choosing.
“I would say that money will help approximately 20 women, which is enormous,” RVCBCC co-founder Erin O’Sullivan said.
O’Sullivan and fellow co-founder Peg McDonald founded the Rockville Centre Breast Cancer Coalition 10 years ago. O’Sullivan’s best friend, Jenn Nichols Kolax, was diagnosed with triple-negative metastatic breast cancer and died at 47 years old. McDonald’s sister-in-law, Julia Scarella, died from leukemia in 2015.
Both banded together with family and friends to manage through a dark time. But O’Sullivan and McDonald also began thinking about those who heard the same scary news and were left alone to figure out what to do next. Thus, the RVCBCC was born.
“There are a lot of people, unfortunately, who are diagnosed with this disease and they’re living paycheck to paycheck,” McDonald said. “So all of a sudden, they can’t pay their rent, or they have a problem with the electric bill, or there’s not enough food on the table. We help solve those problems.”
That fundraising can help support assets within the organization, like its bereavement fund, which helps the families of those who died from breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society reports that 13% of women in America are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Stucchio-Suarez herself was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2020. Fortunately, it was caught early enough that she received treatment and was cancer-free by the end of January 2021.
“It really means a lot to me because when you are diagnosed with breast cancer, everything just seems out of control,” Stucchio-Suarez said, fighting through tears. “So once I got past the diagnosis and my surgery, I was like, ‘I have to give back.’ ”
Now, she’s using her experience to help the next generation — like her since-graduated son, Luca, and daughter, Madalena, who both play soccer — contribute to a cause bigger than any athletic event. O’Sullivan called Stucchio-Suarez a “rock star” for what she and South Side have cultivated over just two years.
“To get the kids involved is really important, because I think it establishes a baseline for them of philanthropic work, giving back and being a community contributor to the area you live in,” O’Sullivan said. “Because these are your neighbors, your friends. They could be your coaches; they could be your teammates.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.