In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Her Campus USF and Bulls for Moffitt collaborated on a fundraiser to raise money for Moffitt Cancer Center, as well as to educate USF on the dangers of breast cancer.
Wednesday, October 18, the two organizations tabled at Bull Market and raised a little over $50 for Moffitt Cancer Center. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go towards research, patient care and cancer education. Students who donated to the fundraiser received a raffle ticket to win a gift basket featuring items from Freemans, Aeropostle, Erin Condren and Bed Head.
The organizations passed out over 75 fliers with common myths and facts about breast cancer and information about performing a self-breast exam, as well as fliers about upcoming events. Bulls for Moffitt’s Bull Market committee designed an interactive game where students guessed if statements about breast cancer were true or false.
The groups asked students, faculty and staff to wear pink on Wednesday to show their support for the cause. The hope is students would “pink out” the campus to get people talking about breast cancer. Her Campus’s Campus Correspondent Kaitlin Anderson made photo frames out of foam board for students to take pictures with and post to social media.
Photo by Kaitlin Anderson
“We hoped students would gain knowledge about breast cancer and have an overall informational, fun experience about Bulls for Moffitt,” says Bulls for Moffitt Vice President Fariha Hossain.
In the nearly 20 years since the pink ribbon became the symbol of the disease, breast cancer rates have declined due to increased awareness. According to Marie Claire, $6 billion a year goes towards breast cancer research and awareness campaigns.
One in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer during her lifetime. As of March 2017, there are more than 3.1 million women with a history of breast cancer in the United States.
Photo by Cierra Craft
At Bull Market, Her Campus USF and Bulls for Moffitt wanted students to see “beyond the pink” and educate the USF community on the facts.
The pink ribbon is everywhere in October, and we know it’s associated with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But it’s more important that we acknowledge we live in a nation where more than 40,000 women die at the hands of this disease.
Her Campus USF and Bulls for Moffitt’s efforts were worth it all, if even just one student walked away more educated about breast cancer.
Cierra Craft is a Senior Editor at Her Campus USF and President at Bulls for Moffitt.
Thumbnail photo by Cierra Craft