For the 2015 Susan G. Komen 3-Day® season, we’re pleased to be featuring a new recognition on each Komen 3-Day event: the Local Impact Award. This award is being given to walkers or crew members who have been instrumental in strengthening the 3-Day® in their communities throughout the year. Local Impact Award honorees are participants who go above and beyond with things like leading training walks, attending local events, supporting the local 3-Day staff year-round at meet-ups and workshops, and in general, making a difference in their 3-Day community by building lasting relationships and showing commitment to the 3-Day in all they do.
We’re pleased to share the Twin Cities 3-Day Local Impact award winner: Jessica Stockamp.
Jessica is walking in the Twin Cities 3-Day for the ninth year in a row and is returning as the captain of Team Jill, named after her dear friend who passed away from breast cancer in 2006, one day after her 31st birthday. Jessica saw a television commercial for the Twin Cities 3-Day shortly after Jill’s death, and recalls, “I felt so helpless in watching her lose her battle in the end and I figured it was the least I could do to help another person never have to say good-bye like I did. I called my friend, Darcy and she signed up to walk with me; she never even hesitated. All these years later the team has grown and changed and no one has ever regretted saying yes to walking, crewing or stalking. I have to say I am surrounded by some awesome, inspiring and loving people. I am truly blessed!”
Team Jill, with Jessica holding the N
The impact Jessica has had in the Twin Cities 3-Day community is far-reaching. Over the last nine years, Jessica has recruited dozens of Team Jill team members (as a team they have raised more than $157,000, including more than $28,000 credited to Jessica alone). She shared, “I don’t know if you should call it recruiting or just talking about my dedication and passion for this…. I’ve had people call me over the years to find out about the 3-Day. I’ll often spend over an hour telling them about my experience and then they sign up! I remember the first year not knowing what it meant to be a team since there were only two of us and then some years having a team of 25 and trying to make a connection with each of them because I wanted them to take away all the positive feelings I have.”
Jessica is also a visible 3-Day advocate around town. At a team fundraising event in the community, a recently-diagnosed woman approached Jessica and thanked her for all of her years of 3-Day participation. “It’s always hard to take the compliment because I feel like I am just walking. They have the hard job of fighting!”
On the 2015 Twin Cities 3-Day, Jessica’s influence touched especially close to home. “This year I have my twin daughters participating with me in the Young Women Walking program. They have watched me walk for eight years and it’s pretty exciting to see that they are able to join me on my 9th year walking.”
Jessica calls the 3-Day inspiring, emotional and challenging, and advises her fellow walkers to always bring with them “Good socks and shoes, and a sense of humor. Talking makes the time go by fast, and so does singing—I love to sing! Not sure if my team likes my songs but you can throw out any word and I can sing you a song with that word in it.”
But for all the laughter and songs, the real power behind Jessica’s 3-Day journey always comes back to Jill. “She told us when she was dying that we should never worry about missing her because she would always be with us. She said when we found a dime to think of her and we would know she was watching over us. Team Jill has had many dime sightings and we have shared that story for the past 9 years with other walkers along the route. Finding the dimes is so comforting because watching her suffer was one of the hardest things to see.”
Jessica leaves us with these final thoughts: “I have so much support from my friends and family and I look forward to the 3-Day weekend with them, having one goal in mind–finding a cure! We all do things in our everyday lives that we hope matters; this is what I believe I can do to make a difference.”
Thank you, Jessica, for your passionate dedication to the 3-Day and your unwavering commitment to putting an end to breast cancer. We’re proud to have you as part of our family.