A week ago, Erin Finley, owner of gourmet food store Sydney’s “Taylor” Made in Westhampton Beach, hosted a small cocktail party to help spread awareness about a fundraising group she’s a part of: The Shocking Pinks.
For nearly half a decade, The Shocking Pinks have been the number one fundraising team for Ellen’s Run, an annual 5K race that serves as the signature fundraising event of The Ellen Hermanson Foundation, a non-profit organization established in the late 90s that ensures access to state-of-the-art breast health care and that primarily serves breast cancer patients on the East End, regardless of financial status.
Finley, along with other Shocking Pinks members, were on hand at her Mill Road store last Friday evening to help spread awareness about the group, particularly to those that reside in the hamlets of Hampton Bays, Westhampton Beach, Remsenburg and others west of the Shinnecock Canal. According to Finley, about 75 people attended.
“The idea with this is to get people west of the canal to realize we’re out here doing this,” she says. “This is all to support the cause.” While The Shocking Pinks drum up donations through social media and business relationships along with the generosity of friends and family, they also do their own 5K walk throughout Westhampton Beach on the same day of Ellen’s Run (which takes place in Southampton), culminating with a brunch at Finley’s store, which has become the unofficial headquarters for the group.
“We start our walk here and we end our walk here,” she says.
Last year, Finley and her team, with original members including Jeannie Sullivan-Curran, Maureen Drew, Claudia Ferrara, Dottie Macaluso and team captain Sheryl Heather, raised nearly $12,500 for the foundation.

“I’ve been volunteering for the Ellen Hermanson Foundation to support all they do for women’s health and wellness here on the East End for several years now,” Finley says. “At a minimum, everyone is entitled to breast health screening, and the foundation ensures this and much, much more; it is available to all, regardless of one’s ability to pay.”
Next month, the foundation’s summer gala will be on Saturday, July 13, at the Bridgehampton Tennis & Surf Club. Click here for more information.
The 29th Annual Ellen’s Run is set for Sunday, Aug. 18, kicking off at the Southampton Intermediate School at 9 a.m..