Zeta Tau Alpha thinks pink to beat breast cancer

     For the month of October, the message that Zeta Tau Alpha is spreading to the school is “Think Pink.” October is national breast cancer awareness month, and efforts to raise awareness, along with its signature pink color can be seen campus-wide. The cause is being supported by Zeta Tau Alpha as the sorority’s philanthropy.
     Rachel Cline, a freshmen member of the sorority, explains that philanthropy “is something to keep a sorority involved with the school and to inform students about an important cause."  Breast Cancer Awareness is the universal philanthropy of every chapter of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.
     Sophomore Amber Hyde, who has held the position of service chair of the sorority since last April, tells us that the main way that Zeta Tau Alpha works to raise awareness is their “Think Pink” tables that are set up on campus.
     Every Thursday in the month of October, the sorority sets up a table by the fountain where they sell pink ribbons for one dollar each on which people can put their name.
     The sorority also passes out pink ribbons, shower cards with instructions for self exams, and information about breast cancer in an effort to educate the school about their philanthropy.
     “(Ribbons) are a way to encourage women to do self exams and to help everyone to be aware of this deadly disease,” Hyde said.
     They have so far sold about 1,220 ribbons which are now on display in the library. Shannon Morris, the curator of the library museum says the ribbons will stay in the library for the entire month of October. As curator, Morris oversees what is advertised of displayed in the library.
     “We welcome student groups to have displays in the library, but we do have limited space,” Morris said.
     Morris says that it is common for students to have posters or advertisements in the library, and that it is an ideal place to house displays because many students spend some time there.
     “From what I heard, they originally did not think that they were going to be able to fill the space, so I am sure that they are pleased with their progress,” Morris said.
     Another way that Zeta Tau Alpha works to raise breast cancer awareness is by hosting a “War of the Wings,” where local restaurants donate their wings and people buy tickets to pick which wings they like the best. All of the money raised was donated to breast cancer awareness and research. The first “War of the Wings” was held last spring.
     Zeta Tau Alpha also helps to raise Breast cancer awareness is by attending Race for the Cure.
     “The race is held in Macon, and we get there early to help set up,” says Cline.
     There is a pink tent at the race that many of the girls from Zeta Tau Alpha work at.
     “We do random jobs such as making (survivors) pink pancakes and getting them anything we need, we also blow up balloons for the survivors to let go of,” Hyde said.
     Some of the girls participate in the race walking or walking to raise money. The sorority also helps to take down everything after the race. The race will be held on Oct. 20.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 12 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry