“Honestly, I would have had to shut down my research program long ago if it were not for the sustaining yearly support from Brakes for Breasts.”
That’s what Dr. Vincent Tuohy, who leads a laboratory team for the Cleveland Clinic Breast Cancer Vaccine Research Fund, had to say about Brakes for Breasts, the organization that Leigh Anne Best, marketing director of Mighty Auto Pro and Laura Frank, co-owner of Auto Repair Technology, founded in 2011.
Frank’s mother, who battled ovarian cancer, inspired Brakes for Breasts. Tired of sitting idly by, Frank and Best teamed up to help fight the battle against cancer.
“I really wanted to do something to get the word out,” Frank says.
The way the program works is part of its ingenuity: During the month of October, participating shops get free brake pads and shoes donated from participating vendors (which works for vendors, as shops make that vendor its first call for parts that month, which increases the amount that is ordered). The shop then offers customers free pads and shoes on brakes jobs and only charges for parts and labor. Then, the shop writes a check covering 10 percent of that sale to the Cleveland Clinic Breast Cancer Vaccine Fund. Best and Frank have made the program easy for shops to participate in by offering templates for all of the marketing materials.
Since its inception, Brakes for Breasts has raised nearly $1 million dollars for the Cleveland Clinic Breast Cancer Research Fund and had 200 shops in 34 states (and two countries, with participation from Canada) sign up to participate in 2019.
One of the most unique and exciting aspects of the program is that every single penny that is raised goes directly to the clinic—Best and Frank’s goal from the start. Brakes for Breasts is now the largest third-party contributor to the Cleveland Breast Cancer Vaccine Research Fund.
In order to achieve that success, Best and Frank have put in the leg work and the hours, but they both say that they would have made it where they are today had it not been for the participation of the shops within the industry.
“It’s about hope and us all coming together,” Frank says. “We are blessed and honored to be a part of this wonderful industry.”
To learn more and participate, visit brakesforbreasts.com
To learn more about Brakes for Breasts and the journey to $1 million, click here.
