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I’ve
never been a real big fan of
pink. But I’ll be wearing
more of it come next week….especially
since it’s related to a great
cause! By now you probably
know that October is Breast
Cancer Awareness month, but
I bet you didn’t know that October
17-21 is a sort of Breast Cancer
Awareness Week in downtown Jackson.
Presented by The Woman’s Health
Advisory Council at West Tennessee
Healthcare we are “Puttin’ On
The Pink” in Downtown Jackson.
We’re not just wearing
pink, but we’re also dressing
up our storefronts and windows.
When you shop at these
businesses (you’ll know who
they are) from October 17 to
21 they will donate a portion
of the week’s sales to benefit
the Breast Cancer Awareness
Fund (of the West Tennessee
Healthcare Foundation), which
endeavors to teach women about
early detection and prevention.
The week will culminate
on Friday, October 21st from
11:30a-1p at the Aeneas building
(405 E College St) where a complimentary
lunch will be catered by Premier
Catering to the first 150 folks
to pre-register. (To pre-register
simply call 721-425-6448.) In
addition to lunch there will
also be exhibitors, and guest
speakers.
I
was curious as to how the whole
pink thing got started…you know…”breast
cancer awareness pink” as I’ve
heard it referred to. Here’s
what I discovered…I’m sure you’re
all familiar with the Estée
Lauder Company. According
to their website www.elcompanies.com,
“In October 1992, Senior Corporate
Vice President, Evelyn Lauder
and Alexandra Penny, then editor
of Self magazine, developed
the pink ribbon, which has become
the worldwide symbol of breast
health.
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Mrs.
Lauder spearheaded the distribution
of hundreds of thousands of
ribbons and ‘Breast Self-Exam’
instruction cards at Estée Lauder
counters across the U.S. The
Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast
Cancer Awareness Campaign presently
extends to over 40 countries
each October and represents
the most significant and influential
campaign ever instituted to
educate women worldwide about
the need for early detection
and treatment of breast cancer.”
COOL! How appropriate
that this whole thing was spearheaded
by a company who’s founding
mission is to “bring beauty
into the lives of women everywhere?”
I also discovered
the following statistical information
at Evelyn Lauder’s website www.evelynlauder.com:
“Breast cancer is the most common
form of cancer (after skin cancer)
in women in the United States.
In 2005, approximately 211,240
new cases of invasive breast
cancer will be diagnosed in
the United States and an estimated
40,410 women will die from the
disease. In men, 1,690 cases
will be diagnosed, and 430 men
are expected to die. Breast
cancer is the leading cause
of cancer death for African
American women, and for all
women between the ages of 40
and 55.”
In
addition, the Dickson Gallery
of Fine Art together with Jackson
artist Jai Johnson will be giving
away a unique “Puttin on the
Pink” fine art jewelry pendant
created exclusively for this
special awareness week. To learn
more visit www.dicksongallery.com
and join us downtown next week
as we put on the pink!
Dickson
is the owner of The Dickson
Gallery of Fine Art at 118 E
Lafayette Street. She may be
contacted by email at rachel@dicksongallery.com
or by phone at 423-9708.
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