HAPPY LUNGS SHOPPING CARD SUCCESSFUL IN AUSTIN PREMIER, RAISING THOUSANDS FOR LUNG CANCER RESEARCH, GENERATING RETAIL REVENUES AND SAVING CONSUMERS MONEY
Happy Lungs Shopping Card provided Austin residents 20% discount at participating retailers, 10% discount at participating restaurants, from Oct.28 – Nov. 6, 2022
AUSTIN, Texas – Nov. 11, 2022 – The Happy Lungs Project, a new Austin-based nonprofit that supports lung cancer research and premiered its Happy Lungs Shopping Card from Oct. 28 to Nov. 6 in Austin, today announced the Happy Lungs Shopping Card launch was a huge success.
The Happy Lungs Shopping Card
The Happy Lungs Shopping Card, which supports lung cancer research, provided Austin residents with a 20% discount at 75 participating Austin retail locations, and a 10% discount at 16 participating restaurant locations from Oct. 28 to Nov. 6.
“We are excited to share that in our first year of launching the Happy Lungs Shopping Card, we sold more than 1,000 shopping cards, raised more than $50,000 for lung cancer research and helped save Austin consumers thousands of dollars at participating Austin retailers and restaurants,” said Ilana Stromberg, RET positive lung cancer patient and co-founder of the Happy Lungs Project. “We want to thank our great Austin community for all its support in making the Happy Lungs Shopping Card premiere a success — the Austin consumers who purchased the card, the 90 retailers and restaurants who participated in the program, as well as our incredible sponsors.”
Austin resident, 51-year-old Ilana Stromberg, was diagnosed with RET positive lung cancer in 2019. Following a metastasis to her liver and brain, in 2021, her family founded a non-profit, The Happy Lungs Project, to help find a cure for RET-positive, non-small cell lung cancer. The Happy Lungs Shopping Card is The Happy Lungs Project’s premiere fundraising event. 0ne hundred percent of the proceeds from the shopping card go to The Happy Lungs Project, supporting medical research on new therapies to beat RETpositive lung cancer.
“It was great to see customers back in the store to support a great cause. It’s a new card and an old tradition,” said Traci Hall, owner of Feather Nest.
About RET Positive Lung Cancer
Nearly 37,000 people are diagnosed with RET-positive lung cancer annually, which is prevalent in younger women from 30 to 60, most of whom have never smoked and live an active, healthy lifestyle.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths and the third most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S. impacting 1 in 17 people. Lung cancer occurs less often than breast cancer, but it is almost three times more lethal. Despite being the leading cause of cancer deaths, there is a fundamental lack of funding for lung cancer research.
The Happy Lungs Project Mission
“The mission of The Happy Lungs Project is to support researchers and clinicians in their work toward finding a cure for RET-positive non-small cell lung cancer, while providing helpful information to empower patients in their own healing,” said Stromberg. “Additionally, we will collaborate with researchers and clinicians to determine the applicability of our efforts to other genetic mutations or cancers caused by the RET mutation (e.g. thyroid cancer), while alerting patients and their families to new clinical trials which are aimed at creating the next generation of life-saving treatments.”
The Happy Lungs Project 2023
The Happy Lungs Shopping Card will be available again next fall for Austin shoppers to purchase and enjoy. The 10-day discount shopping period will take place from Oct. 27 through Nov. 5, 2023. The Happy Lungs Project plans to continue growing the program every year as it brings on additional retailers and restaurants.
For More Information
The Happy Lungs Project is an Austin-based nonprofit that was founded in 2021. For information about The Happy Lungs Project, click here. For information about the Happy Lungs Shopping Card, click here. For questions, email us at info@happylungsproject.org. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram @thehappylungsproject.
