What We Do

The mission of the Pink Shamrock Foundation is to ensure that all women — especially those with limited funds and resources — have access to the care and support they need to fight breast cancer and win.

The Pink Shamrock Foundation is a tribute to Denny Anne Murphy, who struggled for many years before being overcome by breast cancer. She was blessed with family and friends that were there for her every step of the way. After she passed away, her family and friends began to wonder how people face similar battles without any support.

In honor of Denny Anne, we (her friends and family) started a new outreach program called the Pink Shamrock Foundation. Denny was an advocate of the poor, devoting her life to enriching the lives of others. Her outreach through the medical and educational communities touched and impacted so many lives. It is the vision of the Pink Shamrock Foundation to continue her legacy of hope, love and perseverance. The Pink Shamrock stands for the color of breast cancer — pink, and the good luck charm that conveys grace — the four-leaf shamrock.

Denny knew how to get things done. She served on the boards of: Providence Services of Eastern Washington, Spokane Visiting Nurses Association, Gonzaga Prepatory High School, and the Community Health Association of Spokane. Her message of serving the less fortunate was on every board agenda, she made sure of that.

In 1994, Denny was awarded the “Jan Holloway Teaching Award”, given by the faculty and students at the WSU College of Nursing where she taught for ten years. In 2000, she received the Sister Peter Claver Award for her work with the poor in the Spokane Area. One of Denny’s most cherished accomplishments was the implementation of the Spokane Parish Nurse Program, a project that provides nursing services to people who are bed ridden and in need of medical attention.

After her initial breast cancer diagnosis, several women came together to establish the Breast Cancer Task Force in Spokane. This group provided journals with detailed glossaries, quotes and questions to cancer patients for use with their doctors in collaborating on treatment strategies. The Breast Cancer Task Force is no longer active as they merged with different groups to continue to provide the much needed services in the Spokane area.