The DONNA Foundation celebrated its milestone 20th anniversary in 2024, surpassing 20,000 patients living with breast cancer served through The DONNA CareLine with hope, support and financial relief, and celebrating survivorship with more than 150,000 athletes across DONNA finish lines.
Over the last year, the organization took home several prestigious national and regional awards in addition to celebrating its anniversary of serving those impacted by a breast cancer diagnosis across the country. The organization’s half marathon, a signature event in the DONNA Marathon Weekend series, was ranked number four in the country for “Best Half Marathons” by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards. Additionally, The DONNA National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer placed 20th in the “25 Flattest Marathons” by OutdoorsWIRE, and DONNA Marathon Weekend was awarded a “Best in Jax” award from Jacksonville Magazine for Best Community Run & Walk. These awards reinforce the organization's commitment to excellence in delivering its programs and road race events.
The Foundation is looking toward its future and will launch registration for the 2025 DONNA Marathon Weekend, July 1 at 1 p.m. The 18th annual running of the event series is set for January 31 through February 2, 2025.
This year’s theme, Destination: Fearless, is a celebration of love over fear, and a reminder that we are stronger and braver than we ever thought. The theme represents the idea that every step we take together, every mile we complete, is a step toward embracing a life of hope –– a life that is fearless.
“Even after 20 years of progress, our passion for our mission grows stronger every year,” said Amanda Napolitano, Executive Director of The DONNA Foundation. “We are honored to celebrate with breast cancer patients and survivors, their families and friends, and our neighbors each year. We look forward to making DONNA Marathon Weekend 2025 the best yet. Our theme of Destination: Fearless reinforces our goal to face every day, choosing to be fearless in the face of hardship and always choosing love.”
In its last fiscal year (2023-2024), The DONNA Foundation saw nearly 6,100 racers, with approximately 47% traveling from outside the Northeast Florida region to participate. These numbers reflect the powerful effect the Foundation and its signature race series, DONNA Marathon Weekend, has on Jacksonville’s economy. Nearly 7,000 visitors are attributed to the 2024 races, making a total economic impact of $3.8 million in revenue to the City.
“DONNA Marathon Weekend continues to be my favorite weekend of the year, and I’m sure 2025 will be no different,” said Donna Deegan, City of Jacksonville Mayor and Founder of The DONNA Foundation. “This year’s theme, ‘Destination: Fearless’ is a testament to how far we can go when we let go of fear and believe in what’s possible. As athletes, that belief helps us to meet the demands of the distance, and more importantly, it empowers breast cancer patients and their families to fearlessly navigate a challenging diagnosis. We look forward to celebrating every runner, patient and survivor as we race to finish breast cancer this February.”
The DONNA Foundation works daily to fulfill its mission to provide hope, support and financial relief to those living with breast cancer. The Foundation encourages everyone to get involved –– whether that looks like signing up to run a race, raising funds on your own or with a team, advocating for better access to care or by simply cheering on runners and survivors during the 18th Annual National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer.
Registration for 2025 DONNA Marathon Weekend events and the third annual DONNA 110 Mile-A-Day Challenge opens Monday, July 1 at 1 p.m. EST at BreastCancerMarathon.com. On opening day, registrants can take advantage of 10% off all registration fees.
For more information, or to sign up for a race, visit thedonnafoundation.org.
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About The DONNA Foundation
The DONNA Foundation was established in June of 2003 by three-time breast cancer survivor, award-winning journalist and Mayor of the City of Jacksonville Donna Deegan to meet the critical financial needs of the underserved living with breast cancer. Our mission is to provide hope, support, and financial relief to those living with breast cancer, creating a world where breast cancer patients are freed from any barriers to their successful treatment. Over the last two decades, The DONNA Foundation has served more than 20,000 families, securing more than $6.5M in financial services and debt relief. The organization has also disbursed more than $3.3 million in support of translational genomics and immune studies. The organization also operates events and programs for survivorship, education and awareness. For more information, visit www.TheDONNAFoundation.org.