Pink: Not just for Pepto Bismol anymore

Nancy,

I posted about that when I heard it on the Today show.  I also think it's great, so thanks for link!  I signed up also. 

Oh and today, one of our local bars sold pink beer to raise money (I forget for which research organization).  That's admirable, but slightly weird, too.

kak- your web site is really great! 

KAK,

  I'm in Middletown, RI! 

All these programs referrerls are great...I'll check on them.  Thanks again.  But mammo's didn't work for me so I want the funds to go to help fund day-to-day living expenses.  Even a gift card for groceries, or gas card for a family that it will help.  I know that free mammo's are available through the community but it is the money that I would love to see make the time easier for some folks.

Nash

That is a cute idea.  I think you're very correct.  BC women understandably get sick of it, but I too believe that it does at least raise awareness.  I hope that you get a lot of publicity and lot of people to attend.  Hey - I'm a huge hockey fan - maybe you could get a member of the San Jose Sharks or LA Kings to attend and get some big publcity?  Just a thought.  

Egal - you might try contacting a local church outreach program.  Often they know particular cases where assistance is needed.  I'd be afraid with a large organization that it wouldn't specifically go to someone with BC, if you'd be able to specify that. 

Amy

Amy,

   That is perfert!  I was in treatments with a lovely older woman who's  fellow church members gave her rides, etc.  Unfortunately, she passed away a short time ago.  I know I will be able to find the right avenue~ Great suggestion!

Nash,

I hope your local synchronized skating teams will be participating in your Pink at the Rink.  I rather watch synchro than any of the other  skating disciplines.

Pink at the Rink sounds like a great project.  Celebrity appearances - WOW -  and good luck.   Advertizing in newspaper could be "donated" and maybe an office supply place would print posters/flyers as a donation.  Maybe get a female news caster  to cover the event and put on tv.   And a few "young ones" on the ice - family members of those who are diagnosed and in treatments.   

I do not remember the group that sends free hats / caps to chemo patients, not just BC ones.  I think a young boy started it.   And this site does need funds to keep online and keep the various links open for those seeking information and support.   

EGAL,

Here's an organization that gives money directly to breast cancer patients. The article is from my local newspaper's momthly magazine:

It was June 2004 when Patricia Casey’s 32-year-old cousin Christina suffered a collapsed lung in Orlando and was medivacked back to New Jersey for treatment. Christina, who was battling a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, had been visiting Disney World with her 3-year-old daughter—something she wanted to do before she died—when her lung gave out. Insurance didn’t cover the $12,000 airlift, though, and she didn’t have enough saved to pay out-of-pocket. That’s when family and friends stepped in, raising enough money to bail her out. Realizing the impact that the assistance had on her life, Christina asked that the family start an organization to aid people in similar predicaments. After she succumbed to the disease in August of that year, the Christina S. Walsh Breast Cancer Foundation was born.

Unlike many other breast cancer charities, says Casey, who is now on the foundation’s board of directors, the organization uses its funds to help breast cancer patients who are having money problems. “We are one of a few organizations countrywide that will give money for immediate financial assistance,” explains the Thiells resident. “Most of the breast cancer foundations are raising money for research.”

The organization generates support in much the same way that Christina’s family members did after the medivac: by networking with local hospitals and reaching out to as many contacts as possible. As a board member, Casey, who is a project manager for Verizon Wireless, finds that people are receptive to the mission, which not only focuses on breast cancer victims but on those in dire financial need. Businesses sometimes donate food and drink for events, and just recently a church near Princeton let them borrow a school auditorium for a charity dinner. “When you’re raising money, every penny counts,” she says (Christina S. Walsh Breast Cancer Foundation; 609-448-5420; christinaswalshbcf.org).

My local newspaper ran a story on Friday about the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  But, instead of profiling this disease and the local women who have endured breast cancer and its treatments, the article was on the local merchants who are selling items and will be donating a portion of the sale of those items to breast cancer research.

This is what the merchants are selling ......

Pink Pearls

Leave it to Perrywinkle's founder Perry Sporn to lend his "pearls" of wisdom to breast cancer awareness. Perrywinkle's will donate a portion of the proceeds from Mikimoto's Breast Cancer Awareness Collection, "Everything is Possible with Hope," to the Young Survivor Coalition, a charity that supports breast cancer awareness. The Pearls in Motion necklaces are made of pink freshwater cultured pearls, each of which can be repositioned along the 18-karat white gold chain for a variety of looks. There are two new necklaces in the collection, each with 10 pink pearls: 8-millimeter for $2,200 and 9-millimeter for $2,900. http://www.perrywinkles.com/

The Magic of Mackage

Outerwear brand Mackage isn't local, but two of its products will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Fund (BCRF) and they were too cute to pass up. Having lost her mother to breast cancer at a young age, Mackage co-founder Elisa Dahan sought a way to honor her mother by contributing to a breast cancer project. With the creation of a limited-edition wool coat called HOPE, Elisa and her partner Eran Elfassy hope to raise funds and awareness. The coat, sold exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, has a white lining featuring the BCRF "pink ribbon," a special dedication label and pink piping detail on the inside. It costs $695, with $100 at cost being donated directly to the BCRF. Mackage's second product, a Splendid Limited Edition Tank, may be a bit out of season, but this little pink piece of flair was so successful last year that Mackage is repeating the proven formula. Snag it now and save it for spring. Each sassy Limited edition tank sold for $42 will benefit BCRF with a $5 donation. For more information, call 212-929-7979.

Making Strides

Twenty percent of all profits from the $10, 5-ounce, peony-scented Making Strides Against Breast Cancer candle will go to the American Cancer Society. Also check out the handcrafted sterling silver Strides bracelet, complete with inspirational charms like hope and strength. $75. Both can be found at Candles and Creations in the Blue Mall in South Burlington. 660-8021 or http://www.candlesandcreations.net/.

Flash Pink

Burlington's Flashbags donates 10 percent of sales from its custom-designed "Flash Pink" bag emblazoned with a variety of catchy phrases from T-shirt designs to the SD Ireland Cancer Research Fund. The special Buzzbag design is composed with words of health and wisdom for women such as "together," "impossible is nothing," "feed your inspiration," and "making a difference." To customize your own bag, go to www.flashbagsonline.com/shop/?pn=Buzzbag_Flashbags.

Hang On

Tootsies on College Street sells more that footwear and pedicures. They also carry this cute little purse hook with the Pink Ribbon emblem shining in the middle. Although buying this hook directly from Tootsies does not generate profits for breast cancer awareness, the owner said her money went to the cause when she bought the hooks from the retailer. The best part? It's only $14. Stop in or call 658-6006.

 I am so disgusted!!!  I sent a message to the newspaper letting them know that they would be better suited to promote local women with breast cancer.

Laurie

Saw both movies packaged in "pink" and pink Band-Aids (yes, pink and white with the ribbon!!) yesterday while grocery shopping.  At least they quoted a specific percentage of each sale as going to Komen. 

Our downtown has pink ribbons on every light post--just blowing in the breeze! 

EGAL, I agree on the financial support.  Women need all kinds of help when dealing with this disease.  Here's a link from the Gloria Gemma site (started by the Rhode Island family of a women who died of BC) about a program of theirs to provide free transportation to & from treatment:

http://www.gloriagemma.org/programs_view.php?id=28

There's also a page on that site that has a bunch more links on programs that provide financial assistance, so might be a source of some more ideas.  I'm going to see what else is going on here in RI via my esteemed employer, the Visiting Nurses of South County.  I'll get back to you.

Nash, love Pink at the Rink!  How fun & good luck.

I have to remind myself sometimes that all this ridiculous commercialization of our diagnosis is a measure, albeit warped, of how well we have succeeded in bringing the threat of BC & the need for research into causes, cures & treatments into the forefront of public consciousness.

However, I just discovered yesterday that there's a similar movement for ovarian cancer, which has decided to use teal-colored ribbons as their emblem.  The inevitable teal jewelry sites have sprung up, so now, I wonder if we are soon going to be seeing teal baseball bats & T-shirts & appliances, etc., etc.   Personally, I don't look good in pink anyway, but teal is one of my best colors . . .OMG   What this says about the human species & how we in America particularly have to resort to this stuff to raise awareness of grim diseases, I don't know.  But on the other hand, you have to maintain perspective & keep a sense of humor & do what you can do.

Laurie, thought I'd pass this on by way of a bit of an unexpected antidote to the Pink Plague.  One of the most vacuous, infuriating magazines in the world might arguably be Vogue, but I give them credit for NOT filling their October issue with ads for pink fashions & other crap.  In fact, I think the only ad that directly mentions BC is a full-pager by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, an organization that directs 85% of its collected donations to BC research & education programs.  Some of their program partners are a bit silly, but their list of research grantees is impressive.

I leafed through the October Vogue because of a cover headline about an article that does a not-totally-vacuous job of reporting on a fitness program designed for post-surgical BC survivors (which actually sounds quite cool), as well as current trends in reconstructive surgery & preventative nutrition.  Of course, the rest of the issue is full of the usual two-thousand-dollar handbags, spike heels that are guaranteed to increase your risk of falls & fractures, and puffy-lipped, unhealthy-looking young models dressed in just-silly clothing.  But, hey, you can't get through People Magazine or Better Homes & Gardens this month without being assaulted in every other ad by the Pink Plague!!

Kathi

Cristine:  I was just reading the Sunday paper and looking at the adds.  Sitting there whining to my husband because of all the pink stuff.  I saw Targets add and was pleasantly surprised to see that they are donating to breastcancer.org!  Makes me want to go out and buy one.  They are also donating to Cancercure and Sloan Ketterling! 

Nicki

Okay, two things that bothered me while shopping, was my favorite garlic bread wrapped in PINK, so I had to choose a lesser liked brand   Hate them for that!  Then there was my bubble gum in PINK Ribbon!  What will they think of next?  Tissue paper to blow your nose on? THey've already hit the toilet paper, why not that? Or the Cleaning pink latex gloves!  Oh yes, have to keep those germs down, while infuse the chemicals and eat pink M&M, drink pink beer and all the other stuff that supposedly causes a higher risk!  Surprised that cigarette brands haven't jumped on the pink wagon! 

What do they do with all that stuff(pink mixers, brooms, utensils, etc.) in the stores on November 1?