Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk encouraging Chicagoans to ‘Pink Differently’

The rain did not discourage many involved in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk including walkers Jolee Manson and Monica Cortez who were out to support their loved ones.

Manson and Cortez, chose to walk in Making Strides for two years in a row so they could “be involved in anything.” Cortez, whose Mom is a survivor and Manson who was walking for her Aunt and Grandma, explained how this year it appeared that there was a lot more people.

Approximately 3,500 people volunteered, walked and participated in raising a total of $307,417.09, according to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Chicago.  The walk was held at Montrose Harbor.

Making Strides even sets up Port-o-Janes to show their Breast Cancer support. Photo by Tabitha Hurley

People gathered to support their loved ones and each other, Rachel Agee, a volunteer, agrees, “It is incredible to see how many people come out and form teams, especially with the weather, even if it doesn’t affect you directly, everyone knows someone.”

Agee and her two-sorority sisters are students at DePaul University who have volunteered through Delta Gamma to work the event this morning.  Agee, Elena Cohn, and Kaelyn Dodd, all got up at 5:30 a.m. to travel from DePaul’s Student Center and set up to “give time to good causes, because you never know what could happen to you,” says Cohn.

DePaul University Delta Gamma students volunteer at registration area. Photo by Tabitha Hurley

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Getting Real with Robert Hernandez

“Technology doesn’t replace journalism, it empowers it,” says Robert Hernandez of USC as he explains to an overflowing group the rules of social media journalism during the Excellence in Journalism convention in New Orleans.

Hernandez, who organizes #wjchat, the weekly techno-journo Twitter chats, has five main rules that he follows when writing online and using social media.

Throughout the session, Hernandez made references that pointed out how even though social media is at our fingertips it “doesn’t replace the phone or in-person interviews.”

As journalists we need to be aware of how social media is affecting our reporting and news organizations around the world, especially with many apps and websites that can break down the facts almost instantly.

One of the most mentioned quotes (and one of Hernandez’s rules) of the weekend that young journalists were advised to follow was, “If your mom tweets that she loves you, check it out.”

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