It’s time to lend a hand: The fundraising campaign for the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center is counting down to completion and rallying supporters to the cause.

“We’re in the final stages in that we are raising the last $3 million for this tremendous $12.5 million project,” says Peter Read, who was recently named co-chair of the Foundation’s completion campaign. “We’re grateful for all the support that has gotten us to this point, and we’re asking the community to stand with us until the last dollar is raised, the center is built, and it opens its doors next year.”

Read became one of the project’s key initial donors after his wife, Carol, who is the center’s namesake, died of breast cancer in 1997. His co-chair, Sylvia Carter, was Carol’s longtime friend, and Sylvia’s husband, Tim, was Peter’s childhood buddy. “Both my husband and I want to be part of something that’s bigger than ourselves,” says Sylvia. “We’re committed to the idea of an East Bay center — a state-of-the-art one-stop center — so that no one has to go all over the country like my friend did to get quality breast cancer care.”

If all goes as planned, the center’s construction will begin by year’s end. “We — and the entire East Bay community — eagerly await the groundbreaking,” says Debra Barnes, Foundation associate director. “When women enter the new breast center, they’ll feel positive about the steps they’re taking toward breast health and be assured they’ve found a place of healing and hope.”