Valet workers raise more than $400 for walkathon

With a little help from her friends at the Fairmont Newport Beach, valet cashier Helen Tao nears her $2,200 fund-raising goal for the Breast Cancer 3-Day walkathon benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Fellow valet workers pledged Wednesday’s tips to the 21-year-old UC Irvine student set to complete the 60-mile walk Nov. 9 to 11 in San Diego. The event raises money for breast cancer research, as well as public awareness of the disease.

“The whole valet team found out she was doing this walk for breast cancer and decided they would contribute by donating all their tips for the day,” said front-office director Arthur Wong, who helped organize the donation.

They raised more than $400, Wong said.

Tao could not be more thrilled with her co-workers’ encouragement and looks forward to being a part of finding a cure for breast cancer.

“I’m doing this for everybody who has breast cancer and everybody who knows someone with breast cancer,” she said. “I’ve been hearing about it since I was a kid, and I wanted to take a more active part in helping people out.”

— Jessie Brunner