Jump For The Rose (JFTR), an association of skydiving enthusiasts, has surpassed $100,000 in donations in support of The Rose, a Houston-area breast cancer clinic that treats breast cancer patients regardless of their ability to pay.

Houston, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/18/2015 -- Jump For The Rose (JFTR) today presented The Rose breast cancer clinic with a check for $17,865.00 at the clinic's annual holiday party. With that donation, the Houston-based group of skydiving enthusiasts has surpassed $100,000 in total funds raised for the clinic, which provides screening, diagnostic and treatment to breast cancer patients regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

The bulk of JFTR's 2015 donation was raised at the 6th annual JFTR PinkFest Mini Boogie, a weekend of skydiving held at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas on September 12 and 13 of this year. The event was featured in the November, 2015 issue of the United States Parachute Association's Parachutist magazine.

"Thanks to everyone who supported Jump For The Rose this year and from the start. You made a difference and saved lives. Skydive, Have Fun, Give Back!" said JFTR founder Marian Sparks. Sparks, 60, is a breast cancer survivor and avid skydiver. Sparks was referred to The Rose in 2009 when she was newly divorced, uninsured, and had just received the cancer diagnosis. "The Rose saved my life. They were there for me during my darkest hour," says Sparks. "During my treatment, I told them I was going to make it my mission to help The Rose help other women like me."

Sparks explains the part that skydiving played in her recovery and in her continued good health: "Skydiving empowers you. It gives you strength. It makes you feel wonderful. When the parachute opens, you are floating...Skydiving taught me that I'm a strong person...that if I can jump out of a plane, I can do anything!" Sparks now has more than 2,000 skydives under her belt, and holds several Texas and United States skydiving records.

In 2016, Sparks plans to hold fundraisers outside the Houston area, at several drop zones around the United States. "The skydiving community is wonderful...people are very giving," Sparks explains.

About The Rose
The Rose clinic's mission is to reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing screening, diagnostics and access to treatment for all women regardless of their ability to pay. The Rose offers advanced breast cancer screening and diagnostic services including mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies and access to treatment to more than 35,000 women in the Houston area annually. Since its launch in 1986, The Rose has served nearly 500,000 patients and is now the leading non-profit breast health care organization in southeast Texas.

For more information, visit www.the-rose.org.

About Jump For The Rose
Founded by breast cancer survivor and avid skydiver Marian Sparks, Jump for the Rose (JFTR) is a grassroots skydiving organization dedicated to raising funds for The Rose, a Houston-area breast cancer clinic. In its brief history, the group has helped participate in several women's Texas state skydiving records, two national women's sequential skydiving records, and earned a men's and a women's world records.

For more information, visit www.jumpfortherose.org.

About Marian Sparks
Marian Sparks, 60, founded Jump For The Rose to help raise funds for The Rose, a non-profit breast health clinic that diagnosed and treated her breast cancer when she was newly divorced and without insurance. Sparks has been featured in two advertising campaigns for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, one of the organizations that supports The Rose's programs.

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A five-man group of jumpers has set a world record for skydivers over sixty years of age, and eight women have set a Texas state record, at a breast cancer fundraiser for The Rose clinics held at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas by Jump For The Rose.

Houston, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/01/2015 -- Jump For The Rose (JFTR) today confirmed that a group of five skydivers over sixty has achieved a world record at a breast cancer charity fundraiser the group recently sponsored. Bob Felt, Tom Ruprecht, John Benoit. Gary Greer, and James Parker, all of whom are over sixty years of age, jumped from 14,000 feet to create an unprecedented six-point formation in the skies above Rosharon, TX at the PinkFest Mini Boogie.

An all-woman group of eight skydivers set a Texas state record for the most number of women free-falling in a head-down formation at the same event. Included in the group were jumpers Jennifer Bocker, Tammie Frank, Bridget Johnson, Jessica Lynn, Rose Moeser, Melissa Payne Petrijcuks, Merry Regan, and Laura Wagner. Head-down skydiving is considered the most difficult of free-fall positions.

The new skydiving records were achieved on September 13, the second day of the 6th annual JFTR Pinkfest Boogie, a breast cancer fundraiser for The Rose clinics held at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas on September 12-13, 2015. The weekend event raised over $15,000 for The Rose-Houston's largest non-profit breast cancer clinic—which treats patients regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status.

"That $15,000 will help screen and treat about 100 women," says Marian Sparks, 60, the founder of JFTR, and an alumnus of The Rose clinic. Sparks was newly divorced, uninsured, and newly diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, when she was referred to The Rose. "The Rose saved my life. They were there for me during my darkest hour," says Sparks. "During my treatment, I told them I was going to make it my mission to help The Rose help other women like me." Since her recovery, the skydiver has helped raise nearly $100,000 for The Rose through the charity she founded, Jump For The Rose.

Now a six-year breast cancer survivor, Sparks has more than 2,000 skydives under her belt. She holds several Texas and United States skydiving records.

"Our ultimate goal at Jump For The Rose is to help The Rose acquire a mobile mammography suite," says Sparks. "It's like a self-contained Rose clinic in a modified motor coach. The price tag is steep—about half a million dollars—but we know it will save so many lives. There are still many counties in Texas that don't have mammography services at all, and sometimes women in those counties have to travel for hours to get screened. This state-of-the-art coach will travel to them instead."

Notes to Editors:
Photos of Marian Sparks and the Women's Texas Vertical Record are available at no charge for editorial use only, in daily newspapers and magazines, from Norman Kent Productions, and must be credited to "Norman Kent" if used. Photos are available for use in weekly or monthly publications with express written permission and payment of a licensing fee from Norman Kent Productions. Please contact Norman Kent for more information.

The photo of the Men's Over-60 Six-Point World Record is © 2015 Ben Nelson and may be used for any editorial (non-commercial, non-advertising) purpose with a credit to "Ben Nelson."

About The Rose
The Rose clinic's mission is to reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing screening, diagnostics and access to treatment for all women regardless of their ability to pay. The Rose offers advanced breast cancer screening and diagnostic services including mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies and access to treatment to more than 35,000 women in the Houston area annually. Since its launch in 1986, The Rose has served nearly 500,000 patients and is now the leading non-profit breast health care organization in southeast Texas.

For more information, visit www.the-rose.org

About Jump For The Rose
Founded by breast cancer survivor and avid skydiver Marian Sparks, Jump for the Rose (JFTR) is a grassroots skydiving organization dedicated to raising funds for The Rose, a Houston-area breast cancer clinic. In its brief history, the group has helped participate in several women's Texas state skydiving records, two national women's sequential skydiving records, and earned a men's and a women's world records. To date, JFTR has raised nearly $100,000 for The Rose.

For more information, or to make a donation, visit www.JumpForTheRose.org

About Marian Sparks
A six-year breast cancer survivor, Marian Sparks, 60, has more than 2,000 skydives under her belt. She holds several Texas, and National skydiving records. Sparks founded Jump For The Rose to help raise funds for The Rose, a non-profit breast health clinic that diagnosed and treated her breast cancer when she was newly divorced and without insurance. Sparks has been featured in two advertising campaigns for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, one of the organizations that supports The Rose's programs.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Houston resident Marian Sparks, 60, a breast cancer survivor, will be one of 40 skydivers who are attempting to break the Texas and World Record for the most skydivers over the age of 60 in a free-fall formation. The record attempt will take place at the Pinkfest Mini Boogie, a breast cancer treatment fundraiser sponsored by Jump For The Rose, on September 12-13, 2015 at Skydive Spaceland.

Houston, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/10/2015 -- When Houston resident Marian Sparks was newly divorced, without insurance, and newly diagnosed with breast cancer, she received life-saving treatment from The Rose, a non-profit breast cancer treatment center. Since her recovery, the skydiver has helped raise nearly $85,000 for The Rose clinics through the charity she founded, Jump For The Rose (JFTR).

This year, Sparks is celebrating two milestones: six years being cancer-free, and jumping as one of 40 "Skydivers Over Sixty" who are attempting to break the Texas and World record for the most skydivers above age 60 in a free-fall formation. The state record attempt is scheduled for JFTR's "Pinkfest Boogie" skydiving fundraiser at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon September 12 and 13, 2015. The formation will be large enough to see from the ground.

During the jump, Sparks and the other participants will free-fall from two jump planes, creating a pre-planned formation in the sky and holding it for a specific length of time. The jump will be filmed in the sky to document the record attempt. The first attempt is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 12 if weather conditions permit.

"It's kind of like a choreographed dance in the air," Sparks explains. "We will do several 'dirt dive' rehearsals on the ground so all 40 skydivers can practice the formation. Then we'll start making our attempts in the air. After each attempt, the organizers review the video to see if we have achieved the record."

Formation skydiving record attempts are invitation-only. Organizers choose experienced jumpers who are adept at safely controlling their bodies and connecting with other participants in the sky. For the safety of everyone involved, organizers cut from subsequent attempts anyone who can't perform their position. "We will continue to make attempts throughout the day until we achieve the record or run out of daylight," says Sparks.

Several other record attempts are planned for the Pinkfest Mini Boogie, which typically attracts over a hundred skydivers from all over the U.S. and as far away as Norway this year. Skydive Spaceland, located at 16111 FM 521 in Rosharon, is hosting the Jump For The Rose Pinkfest Mini Boogie. "Everyone is welcome," says Sparks. "If you're curious about skydiving, or just want to help support The Rose, it's a great weekend to come out. Even if you have no experience, we can get you trained for your first tandem dive during the event." Skydive Spaceland is donating $20 from each tandem jump ordered online at http://houston.skydivespaceland.com/shop/tandem-skydives/tandem-jftr/ through September 13," says Sparks.

For more information about the Pinkfest Mini Boogie, visit the event's page on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/events/1545914745684573

About The Rose
The Rose clinic's mission is to reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing screening, diagnostics and access to treatment for all women regardless of their ability to pay. The Rose offers advanced breast cancer screening and diagnostic services including mammograms, ultrasounds, biopsies and access to treatment to more than 35,000 women in the Houston area annually. Since its launch in 1986, The Rose has served nearly 500,000 patients and is now the leading nonprofit breast health care organization in southeast Texas.

About Jump For The Rose
Founded by breast cancer survivor and avid skydiver Marian Sparks, Jump for the Rose (JFTR) is a grassroots skydiving organization dedicated to raising funds for The Rose, a Houston-area breast cancer clinic. In its brief history, the group has hosted two successful Women's Texas State Records and earned two National Women's Sequential Skydiving records and earned a Women's World Record in 2014. To date, JFTR has raised nearly $85,000 for The Rose.

About Marian Sparks
A six-year breast cancer survivor, Marian Sparks, 60, has more than 2,000 skydives under her belt. She holds several Texas, and National skydiving records. Sparks founded Jump For The Rose to help raise funds for The Rose, a non-profit breast health clinic that diagnosed and treated her breast cancer when she was newly divorced and without insurance. Sparks has been featured in two advertising campaigns for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, one of the organizations that supports The Rose's programs.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm