On October 12th, once again the Athens Limestone Hospital Foundation will be sponsoring the Pink Elephant Luncheon, an event whose sole purpose is to raise funds as well as awareness in the fight against breast cancer. While the color pink has had a number of illustrative roles in our culture, such as being “the” color of baby girls, as well as expressing being in a state of health or well-being, i.e. being “in the pink,” it wasn’t until 2008, when the National Football League approved the use of players using pink garb and or equipment to express their solidarity in the fight against breast cancer, that it morphed into becoming the color of a warrior. Now it is common to see men and women wear pink ribbons in October, and it is even possible to buy pink garbage cans that signal a commitment all year long to seeing breast cancer defeated.
There was a time when breast cancer was considered to be the disease of elderly women, being largely confined to those aged 65 and above. Some oncologists say that with each passing decade, the age of women attacked by breast cancer has itself dropped a decade, with teenagers being stricken in the years 2000-2010. Sadly, last year a ten year old girl in California became the youngest person on record to have been diagnosed with it. In addition, it is now entirely possible for men to have breast cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2016, 2600 men will be stricken with the disease, and of those 2600, 400 will die. While it is true that 97% of the women who actually die from breast cancer are over the age of 40, still the death toll this year will be close to 40,000, and from every age group. Thankfully, there are more than 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S., and the Foundation is doing all it can to see that number increase.
Because early detection is one of the keys for survival, the Athens Limestone Hospital Foundation raises funds specifically designated to provide scholarships for mammograms, as well as technologies to find it sooner. ALH Foundation started the Pink Elephant Fund eight years ago because they wanted to make sure residents of Limestone County who either have no medical insurance, or whose insurance does not cover mammograms would have the opportunity to have this test at no charge. This has been especially helpful in recent years as insurance costs have sky-rocketed, or mammograms have been dropped from coverage altogether.
In keeping with October being National Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Foundation will be holding the Pink Elephant Luncheon on the 12th at the Limestone County Event Center from 11:30 am until 1 pm. Individual tickets are $30, and in addition, there are a number of opportunities to be a sponsor. If you would like to be a mammogram scholarship sponsor, you can do so for $125. You will receive one ticket to the luncheon, and will be designated as a “Pink Table Top” sponsor.
The “Tickled Pink” designation is for a donation of $500, includes two luncheon tickets, event day recognition, and having name/organization posted on the Pink Elephant Sponsor Board for the fiscal year.
The $1500 “Pretty In Pink” designation includes a luncheon table for 8, the same event day and Sponsor board recognition, as well as inclusion in a full page color ad in the Sunday News Courier. For $2500, the “Passionate Pink” sponsors will have 2 tables of 8, the same event day recognition, Sponsor Board recognition, News Courier recognition, name/organization posted on hospital digital donor wall, as well as further recognition in Foundation marketing campaigns.
For more information on purchasing tickets or being a sponsor, please call the Foundation Office at 256-233-9557.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
