Please come out to Cambridge Baseball's "Purple Pansies Day at the Ballpark" this Saturday, April 9, with first pitch at 12:45 pm.  Help Cambridge Baseball support Purple Pansies and help in the fight to end pancreatic cancer.  

Maria Fundora, owner of Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant in Alpharetta, founded the nonprofit, Purple Pansies, in 2008 following her mother's death from pancreatic cancer. Purple Pansies is a way to honor her mother, spread her lesson of compassion and carry on in her footsteps by helping others afflicted by this disease.

Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers, but receives only 6% of government research funding. Early detection is critical to reverse this trend as 91% of patients find the cancer has spread by the time the disease is detected and over 74% of the patients will not survive one year from the time of diagnosis. To date, Purple Pansies has raised more than $4 million dollars to increase pancreatic cancer awareness, fund research and aid affected families.

During the pandemic, Casa Nuova and the Purple Pansies team provided meals for over 14 teams of front-line workers at various hospitals and grocery stores across Cobb, Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, as well as to the Meals by Grace organization and pancreatic cancer afflicted families. Maria proudly supports community youth and understands that they are a big part of our community and future in the fight to end pancreatic cancer.  She holds fundraisers in support of local schools and various charities at Casa Nuova as she believes in giving back to her community.

To learn more about Purple Pansies and to donate and volunteer, please visit www.purplepansies.org.