More than 750 Rancheros Visitadores from 37 states and six countries gathered May 5 to parade in pink on horseback and in carriages along Alisal Road through Solvang to Old Mission Santa Inés to support breast cancer patients and programs at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center at Sansum Clinic.
For the seventh consecutive year, the rancheros partnered with Wrangler Jeans and the Tough Enough to Wear Pink Foundation to raise funds for the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara.
Through the combined efforts of Wrangler Jeans, Tough Enough to Wear Pink and the Rancheros Visitadores, more than $800,000 has been contributed to the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara since 2012.
The funds benefit breast cancer programs at the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center including: clinical research trials, wellness classes and support programs, hereditary cancer risk counseling and nurse navigation.
These services are available to all breast cancer patients who live in Santa Barbara County, regardless of where they receive treatment or their ability to pay.
“The rancheros have been returning to Santa Barbara County and the Santa Ynez Valley for 87 years,” said ranchero Steve Beneto. “Though our members come from far and wide, this is the rancheros’ home, and we have found a cause we believe in.
“We understand it is important to give back to the community we return to year after year. Our goal is to raise $1 million by 2019.
“The response has been fantastic as we continue our support of the Cancer Center and their excellent care of breast cancer patients and their families on the Central Coast.”
The Ridley-Tree Cancer Center’s Solvang office, 2040 Viborg Road, No. 140, provides Santa Ynez residents with access to physicians who have studied, worked and taught in the finest cancer centers in the world, including Harvard, Sloan-Kettering, UCLA and the National Institutes of Health.
Ridley-Tree Cancer Center offers oncology appointments in Lompoc at 1225 N. H St.; and in 2017 opened a world-class regional cancer center in Santa Barbara.
To learn more, visit Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara, www.cfsb.org or Ridley-Tree Cancer Center at www.ridleytreecc.org.
— Lori Willis for Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara.