Seven Chicago radio stations spanning hip-hop, gospel, adult contemporary, pop, rock and news are putting their airwaves behind one cause this weekend: a free 3K walk in Roseland benefiting Black breast cancer survivors. iHeartMedia Chicago has announced the ninth annual Sista Strut Pink Celebration will take place Saturday, October 3, 2026, starting at 10 a.m. at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center, 1250 West 119th Street on the South Side.
The walk is presented by Your Local Ford Dealers and will benefit Sisters Network Chicago, Inc., a Black breast cancer survivorship organization, according to ABC7 Chicago. Listeners can participate for free, though organizers are encouraging registration in advance and donations to the nonprofit. ABC7 Chicago serves as the exclusive TV partner for the event, and the 3K walk will open with family entertainment and giveaways from event sponsors.
Four familiar on-air voices will host the walk: Carla Ferrell, co-host of The Steve Harvey Morning Show; Bioncé Foxx, V103's midday host; Sonya Blakey, who hosts Inspiration 1390's morning show and V103's Get Your Praise On; and KeKe Hampton, a 103.5 KISS FM morning show contributor and 107.5 WGCI weekend host. The lineup reflects the coordinated push across all seven of iHeartMedia Chicago's stations — 107.5 WGCI, V103, Inspiration 1390, 103.5 KISS FM, 93.9 LITE FM, Rock 95.5 and BIN 640 AM — which, as reported by Barrett Media, unites hip-hop, gospel, adult contemporary, pop, rock and news formats behind a single health initiative.
A Partnership Nearly a Decade in the Making
Kashon Powell said the Sista Strut Pink Celebration continues to be a powerful tradition throughout the Chicagoland community, per the seed reporting. Annie Jones added that Sisters Network Chicago, Inc. and iHeartMedia Chicago have partnered for nearly a decade, underscoring how the walk has grown from a community walk into a movement.
That growth mirrors a broader pattern. iHeartMedia runs Sista Strut across roughly 20 U.S. markets — including Indianapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, New Orleans and St. Louis — specifically to confront health disparities in communities of color, according to Business Equity for Indy. In Chicago, the event has grown over its nine-year run into one of the largest annual gatherings for Black breast cancer survivors and supporters in the Chicagoland area, per V103 Chicago's coverage.
Why the Health Stakes Are So High
The urgency behind the walk is rooted in stark national data. Black women in the United States face a 38% higher breast cancer mortality rate than white women despite a lower overall incidence rate, and are diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer — a more aggressive form of the disease — at roughly double the rate of any other group, according to the American Cancer Society.
Age matters too. National cancer surveillance data published by the National Institutes of Health found the median age of breast cancer diagnosis for Black women is 61, four years younger than for white women, and that Black women under 40 experience higher incidence rates than white women in the same age bracket. Those numbers help explain why early detection and self-exams before age 40 remain central themes of Black health outreach efforts like Sista Strut.
The Walk Comes to Roseland
The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center in Roseland will host the walk.
Garrett Popcorn Shops supported the 2025 walk with sample grocery bags and team members strutting, according to organizational updates from Garrett Popcorn Shops.
A Community Focus on Breast Cancer Survivorship
The event's beneficiary, Sisters Network Chicago, Inc., is a Black breast cancer survivorship organization.
Saturday's walk pairs family entertainment with support for Black breast cancer survivors.
iHeartMedia Chicago owns and operates WCHI-FM, WLIT-FM, WKSC-FM, WVAZ-FM, WGCI-FM, WGRB-AM and WMFN-AM. Parent company iHeartMedia, Inc. trades on Nasdaq under the symbol IHRT, and the company reports that nine out of ten Americans listen to its broadcast radio each month, with iHeartRadio available across more than 500 platforms and over 2,000 devices.
