Thinking pink in Colorado
You probably know by now the October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. You can’t miss it with the campaigns at Safeway, articles on the news and the Race for the Cure in Denver. I was doing a little surfing tonight and came across a blog post by a fellow REALTOR, Linda Davis from Groton, Conneticut. She was talking about one of my favorite photo websites, www.Flickr.com and said that she found a group on Flickr….
“…..called Passionately Pink for the Cure . In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Yahoo! is donating $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for each pink photo added to this group up to $50,000. They are asking you to share photos of a survivor, the memory of a loved one or just a pink photo of your choosing. This donation will be used to fund breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs. Stop by and look at all the lovely pink photos and add one of yours. It is a simple way to help a worthwhile cause!”
I have a wonderful photo I took of my friend, Susie, a breast cancer survivor, when we did the Race for the Cure in Aspen this summer. She was wearing the pink survivor T shirt, and I loved the quote on the back of the shirt, so I took a photo of it. We had a great weekend and I came back and wrote a post about it right away. I will put putting many of my photos on the Flickr group, helping to raise more money for the cure.
One more easy thing you can do to raise more money for research and development is to use the Breast Cancer postage stamp. I use it on all my mail, and I mail a lot. No postage meter for me! I pay 55c per stamp, which is 14c more than regular first class postage, but that extra money goes to fund Breast Cancer research and to raises awareness. In the 9 years that the stamp has been sold, more than $58,000,000 (that’s million!) has been raised and donated. By law, 70 percent of the net amount raised is given to the National Institutes of Health and 30 percent is given to the Medical Research Program at the Department of Defense. 
It is a few cents per stamp, but if all of us use it, it adds up to many more dollars for research. And research will help people like my Mom, Julie, my mother-in-law, LaVaughan, my sister-in-law, Carol, my friend Susie, my co-worker Laura, and many other people in my life and in your life. In the photo above, the pink pieces of paper pinned to people’s backs say either “in memory of” or ” in celebration of” and they honor someone who has had breast cancer.
UPDATE: the Flickr.com site has more than 50,000 photos, so they have raised the $50,000 they wanted to get. They are still accepting photos though!
Joanne,
Breast cancer is one of those things that worries me. It doesn’t run in my family but I have seen it affect many. I applaud you for this post bringing attention to how we can all help fund research.
The statistics are that one in 8 women will have breast cancer. That is a lot of women! (and a few men) Thankfully, the research is paying of and longevity is increasing. Too many women are still dying of it though and our donations can help.
It’s pink everywhere! Those some scary statistics Joanne. lets hope we can find a cure soon.
Monika, I have seen lots of pink posts and a wonderful level of support for the cause. Hopefully the lip service is backed up with money!
Joanne,
This post touched me deeply. Thanks so much for sharing. I started a post that I will be sharing on my blog if I can ever get it finished about my best friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after her 35th birthday. I haven’t been using the breast cancer stamp, but I am going out to buy them tomorrow. Thank you so much for doing your part to help find a cure!!
Hi Ginger, if you have never done a Race for the Cure, do it just one time. I walk instead of run, and you can do whichever you prefer. The people who are there are truly inspirational, and while it is hard for me to attend, it is equally hard not to!