The ongoing battle against breast cancer is a challenge thousands face every year. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 240,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women and about 2,100 in men each year. Another disheartening fact is that about 42,000 women and 500 men in the US die each year from breast cancer, with Black women having the highest rate of death from breast cancer than all other groups — the death rate is 40% higher in Black women overall.
The progress towards a cure and lowering breast cancer mortality could be accelerated primarily through raising awareness. While October is internationally recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, raising awareness is crucial year-round, and involving friends and family in the process can boost the cause and also provide a supportive community for everyone affected. So, in the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we’re sharing seven ways to rally your friends and family to raise breast cancer awareness together.
Charity Runs or Walks
One of the best ways to engage your friends and family is to host or join a charity run, walk, or marathon and raise funds for breast cancer research. Regardless of whether you’re organizing or just participating in an event, charity runs are walkathons/marathons in the name of breast cancer and typically gain a lot of interest from participants and women (and men) who have survived breast cancer or have seen others struggling with the disease.
If you’re organizing a run, it’s really important to promote the event over social media and get as many people engaged as possible. Or, if you’re participating in an organized event, you can help your local organization set up and promote its own event. So, gather up your friends and family and form a team. Designing matching T-shirts, coming up with a catchy team name, and just socializing during the event provides a shared experience that’s both meaningful and fun.
Crafting for a Cause
This is a rather interesting proposition. Involve your friends and family in organizing or joining a DIY craft day, where everyone comes together to create pink-themed crafts — the pink ribbon is synonymous with breast cancer. This could range from jewelry, designing T-shirts, or creating art pieces. These can be sold at the event, and the proceeds can be donated to a breast cancer charity. Crafting is actually a great therapeutic exercise, as well as a practical way to contribute to the cause. If you have some crafts remaining, you can use them at the following point.
Host a Pink-Themed Party
Ask your friends and family to help you organize a pink-themed party — it’s actually easier than people believe. You need a local venue that serves drinks and is willing to provide the space for free and a local band that’s willing to play and contribute to the cause — some local bands might do it free of charge in exchange for the exposure. The venue can provide and charge for the drinks — though you could ask them to donate their profit margin to the cause as well. You can set up donation boxes and sell all the DIY items that you’ve made or have left over from your DIY craft day.
Bake Sale Fundraiser
Who can resist a delicious treat for a good cause? Charity bake sales are always a hit among various age groups. Organize a bake sale, and encourage your friends and family to bake a variety of goods. Opt for pink-themed treats, like pink frosted cupcakes or strawberry cookies. It’s also a good idea to promote the bake sale fundraiser on social media and advertise that all the proceeds go towards breast cancer research.
Educational Movie Night
Hosting a movie night featuring films, short movies, or documentaries about breast cancer is also a good idea to raise awareness among friends and family. It also gets them involved in raising awareness for breast cancer. It provides an opportunity to learn about the disease and the struggles of those diagnosed and to help open up a discussion about breast cancer and raise awareness. Good movie titles that center on breast cancer-related topics are Five, Mondays at Racine, Her Only Choice — starring Denise Boutte — and The Long Goodbye. Oh, and don’t forget the popcorn.
Start a Digital Awareness Campaign
Leveraging social media to spread breast cancer awareness is actually a good idea and one that’s rather easy to execute. You can easily start a social media challenge that promotes breast cancer awareness by posting a photo of yourself wearing something pink. Caption the photo, add some facts about breast cancer, and tag your friends and family to do the same. The virality of social media challenges can actually help send your message far and wide.
Memory and Hope Lantern Release
Memory and hope lantern releases offer a visual and emotional spectacle that symbolizes remembrance and hope, so invite your friends and family — and tell them to spread the invite — to an evening event where they can write messages of hope, love, or remembrance on paper lanterns, and release them into the sky together. This can serve as a tribute to those who battled breast cancer, support for those who still struggle, and as a symbol of hope for a cancer-free future. You can also make the event educational by providing pamphlets and info cards about breast cancer awareness.
In the end, raising awareness for breast cancer doesn’t have to be a formal event or affair. Remember, raising awareness about breast cancer is all about leveraging education to inspire and rally support to help drive change for this disease that affects so many. By incorporating fun and creativity, you, your friends, family, and acquaintances can make a significant impact and make a difference that could cause lasting change.