CAMERON PARK, Calif. — Community impact, education and cancer awareness
For Judy Pickett, surviving breast cancer was only the beginning of a much larger journey. The Cameron Park woman turned her personal battle with the disease into a decades-long commitment to cancer awareness, fundraising and educational opportunities for young people in El Dorado County.
Alongside her husband, Tod Pickett, she helped establish the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Scholarship Program, creating a way for local students affected by cancer in their families to receive financial assistance as they pursue higher education.
The results have reached classrooms and graduating seniors across the county, from El Dorado and Union Mine high schools to Ponderosa, Golden Sierra, Oak Ridge and South Lake Tahoe high schools.
According to the program’s official website, the scholarship initiative has awarded more than $175,000 since 2000. The organizers report a total exceeding $180,000, reflecting the growing impact of their work.
A diagnosis that changed everything
Pickett’s story began in February 1997, when she was 33 years old and eight months removed from giving birth to her third child. She was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer.
Her treatment included a mastectomy, eight months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation, according to her Pink Ribbon Running biography.
Running eventually became an important part of her recovery — physically and mentally — and helped transform a deeply personal struggle into a public mission.
In May 1998, five months after completing chemotherapy, Pickett participated in her first Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Sacramento. That event sparked an ambitious goal: to compete in 100 races benefiting breast cancer awareness and research throughout the country.
The disease returned in June 1999, requiring another surgery. In August 2001, she experienced a second recurrence and underwent additional surgery and four more months of chemotherapy.
Even during treatment, Pickett continued running. Her determination carried her through races, surgeries and physical setbacks that might have ended another athlete’s ambitions.
By May 2004, she had completed her 100th race. Her official biography now reports that she has participated in 158 breast cancer-related races across 46 states, running alongside more than 2.5 million participants, including approximately 305,000 breast cancer survivors.
Pickett’s experience as a three-time survivor helped shape a mission that extends well beyond the finish line.
Turning personal hardship into educational opportunity
In 1999, Tod and Judy Pickett established the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Scholarship Program as an extension of the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Fund.
The program takes a different approach from traditional academic or athletic scholarships. Rather than focusing primarily on grades, test scores or sports performance, it recognizes students whose families have experienced cancer.
The program describes its purpose in a particularly direct way: “It is a scholarship that no one wants to win.”
That statement captures the circumstances behind the award. A student’s eligibility depends on having an immediate family member living in the household who has been diagnosed with cancer of any type. Applicants also write an essay describing lessons learned from that experience, and a parent or surviving family member must verify the diagnosis.
The scholarship is intended to help ease the financial burden of college for families already dealing with the emotional and practical demands of cancer.
For students in El Dorado County, that support can make a meaningful difference at a pivotal moment — the transition from high school to college, professional certification or another educational pathway.
Six local high schools, one shared mission
The Pink Ribbon scholarship program serves graduating seniors at six high schools across El Dorado County:
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El Dorado High School
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Union Mine High School
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Ponderosa High School
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Golden Sierra High School
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Oak Ridge High School
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South Lake Tahoe High School
The geographic reach matters in a county where students attend schools in communities with different local circumstances, from the western slope to the Tahoe Basin.
By making eligibility dependent on a family’s cancer experience, the program offers an opportunity to students whose challenges might not be fully reflected in conventional academic or athletic measures.
The scholarship awards are redeemable with proof of college enrollment, according to the program’s published criteria.
Students and families can find the scholarship through the El Dorado County Office of Education’s scholarship portal. The Pink Ribbon Running website lists Feb. 1, 2027, as the application deadline for the next cycle. Applicants should check the official application portal for current requirements and submission details.
Running for a cause that reaches far beyond the course
Pickett’s fundraising and awareness work has given the scholarship program a public face. Through Pink Ribbon Running, she has used road races to draw attention to breast cancer and support efforts benefiting people affected by the disease.
Her record of 158 races across 46 states demonstrates the scale of that commitment. The journey has included further medical treatment and a range of running injuries, according to her published biography, but her stated ambition has continued to expand beyond the original 100-race goal.
Her efforts also reflect an important distinction between cancer awareness and direct community assistance. Raising awareness encourages people to pay attention to breast health and screening, while the scholarship program provides a tangible benefit to students navigating the consequences of cancer within their households.
The Pickett family’s initiative connects those two objectives: public advocacy and support for the next generation.
A lasting partnership with the El Dorado Community Foundation
The El Dorado Community Foundation provides a local philanthropic framework for connecting donors with causes they want to support. The Placerville-based organization administers charitable funds, grants and scholarships, helping donors direct resources toward community needs.
The foundation’s scholarship catalog explains that local donors have established funds to provide educational assistance to graduating seniors, with each fund operating under its own eligibility requirements. Students can explore available opportunities through the El Dorado County Office of Education’s scholarship system.
For the Picketts, the partnership has helped turn a personal response to cancer into an organized program serving students across the county.
The scholarship fund’s significance is not measured solely by the dollars awarded. It is also reflected in the students who receive help, the families whose experiences are acknowledged and the opportunity to carry lessons learned through hardship into a new stage of life.
A legacy built one race and one student at a time
Breast cancer has shaped much of Pickett’s adult life, but it has not defined the limits of what she can accomplish.
Her journey from a Stage II diagnosis in 1997 to more than 150 races and a scholarship program serving local students illustrates how personal adversity can become sustained community service.
For El Dorado County, the result is a charitable initiative that links cancer awareness with educational opportunity — helping graduating seniors move toward college while recognizing the difficult experiences they and their families have endured.
The Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Scholarship Program offers a reminder that the effects of a cancer diagnosis often extend beyond the person receiving treatment. By supporting students who live with those consequences, the Pickett family’s work helps ensure that those experiences can also lead to opportunity.
For Judy and Tod Pickett, the finish line has never been the only goal. The lasting achievement is the support their efforts provide to young people preparing for the road ahead.
Sources and verification
