“I am honored by the recognition but know that everyday I work with families that are surviving treatments and learning to live and sometimes die from cancer, they are the real heroes,” Patten-Coble said.
Little Pink Houses organizes retreats “to offer families living with breast cancer an opportunity to reconnect and celebrate life in a relaxing environment,” the organization says.
Patten-Coble, an eight-year breast cancer survivor, founded Little Pink Houses to fill a gap in services for survivors’ families.
“I was blessed that God reached out with such a powerful calling during a difficult time in my life after my own diagnosis,” Patten-Coble said.
Little Pink Houses holds 16 retreats a year across the country, CNN says. Eleven families attend each, all expenses paid. Each stays in a vacation home stocked with the family’s favorite foods, and a volunteer assists with everything from child care to cooking.
“When an individual is diagnosed, it affects the entire family,” she told the Times-News previously. “Every family member is affected in different ways and needs to be cared for to be able to have the family remain strong during the exhausting cancer journey.”
This is the 11th year of CNN’s Heroes program. The campaign has profiled more than 280 heroes in more than 80 countries. Over the years, it’s received more than 75,000 nominations from more than 100 countries.
A CNN Hero is profiled each week on CNN and CNN.com. Patten-Coble’s TV spot was shown Thursday. CNN Heroes aren’t allowed to announce their awards until the spots are shown. The network is now showing 30-second teasers through Wednesday to its website stories.
CNN will announce the year’s top 10 heroes this fall, and viewers will vote online for the Hero of the Year, who will be revealed on “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” to be scheduled later.
Each of the top 10 winners receives $10,000. The Hero of the Year receives an additional $100,000.
Nominations for future years may be submitted at CNNHeroes.com.