More than 1,000 T-shirts are being distributed this week in preparation of Friday’s “Spirit of Pink” effort throughout Iola and Allen County.
The benefit will culminate Friday with the release of pink balloons following the national anthem at Iola High School’s home football game against Anderson County. The game kicks off at 7 p.m.
Several, including the IHS cheerleading squad and 55 athletes’ mothers, will wear their pink T-shirts in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Athletes, cheerleading squads and dance teams at Humboldt, Marmaton Valley, Olpe, St. Paul and McClouth also will have the special shirts celebrating Spirit of Pink, organizer Billie Collins said.
Many area hair salons will offer pink hair extensions for a nominal fee, and all three flower shops in Iola are offering pink flowers and balloon specials as well.
Ideally, this week’s efforts will convince women of all ages to schedule mammograms, Collins said.
“If there is one message I can get out there, it is early detection could save your life, or the life of your best friend,” said Collins, who lost a friend to breast cancer earlier this year.
“If just one person sees pink and is reminded to get her mammogram, and something is detected early, we have succeeded,” she continued. “I can’t bring back my best friend, but my goal is to help yours help herself.”
Of the 1,007 shirts sold, 331 were sponsored by businesses and individuals and will be worn by area athletes. Another 676 were sold to individuals in Iola, Texas and McLouth, where Collins attended high school. One T-shirt also will be sent to Kevin Lee, a LaHarpe native currently serving in Iraq.
A portion of the profits from the shirt sales will go to Loretta Ellis, McKinley Elementary School kindergarten teacher, and Stephanie Shomaker, a paraprofessional at Humboldt Elementary Charter School. Both were diagnosed recently with cancer.
Spirit of Pink coincides with October’s designation as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
