When Andrea Steiff wanted to raise money for breast cancer, she went a different route from most.
“Everyone?s always ?running for the cure.? Well, I?m not a very active person. The only exercise I got growing up was every weekend when my mother would take me shopping,” Steiff said. “So one day I said to my business partner [Karin Chriss], ?How come we can?t shop for the cure?? ”
And Shop for the Cure was born.
This is the third year for the charity event, which is hosted by Steiff, Chriss and their Mount Washington-based handbag studio, Bosom Buddy Bags. More than 17 vendors are expected to lay down their wares in hopes of supporting the cure for breast cancer.
Steiff?s desire to raise money for breast cancer didn?t come out of nowhere. Her mother, Lillian Glorioso, died of the disease eight years ago. “For us it?s a very personal event,” Steiff said. “It all comes back to my mom.”
Last year, Shop for the Cure saw about 400 guests and raised more than $10,000 for the Lillian Glorioso Breast Cancer Memorial Fund through the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
The event is held in Steiff?s backyard of her Roland Park home ? for now. “We?ve maxed out the entire yard this year. We?ve got vendors coming from Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina,” Steiff said. “Our forward-thinking goal is that one of these days, this event will be a national thing.”
Family friend Mariel Lowe has known Steiff for 16 years ? since she attended kindergarten with Steiff?s youngest daughter, Lizzie. “Andrea has always been a creative person ? before her handbag venture, she was a floral designer and created the brightest and most elegant arrangements,” she said. “Shop for the Cure is a fun event with a great cause behind it. Andrea and Karin have a talent for decoration ? it?s festive, bright and loaded with pink flamingos.”
Steiff said that if her mother were alive today, she would have been right by her side. “This is what she loved. We could have raced, but my mother didn?t race to anything but a sale. So it?s alittle homage to her.”
IF YOU GO
WHERE: 5512 Roland Ave., Baltimore
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
TICKETS: Free, with $5 suggested donation
