BREAST CANCER AWARENESS: Firefighters embrace the power of pink
Published 4:00 pm Sunday, October 6, 2019
- In honor of Relay’s 35th anniversary, the City of Athens Relay for Life Team is selling Vintage Relay T-shirts as a fundraiser. The Comfort Color dark gray shirts have a vintage look with a Relay ribbon on the front, and the words, “35 Years Strong. Fighting cancer never goes out of style!” on the back.
Athens firefighters will have a new uniform for the month of October. Crews will be wearing Breast Cancer Awareness Month T-shirts in support of those who have or are battling the disease.
Each year, Athens Fire and Rescue Auxiliary designs a shirt the firefighters wear, and the auxiliary sells the shirts as a fundraiser. Proceeds will go to the Athens-Limestone Hospital Foundation’s Pink Elephant program that supports awareness and treatment of breast cancer.
This year’s shirt is gray with pink lettering that includes a fire hose shaped as a pink ribbon in the name Athens Fire. The Comfort Color shirts are $20 and are available at Station No. 1 at 950 W. Washington Street from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 256-262-1390.
A vintage look
In 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt went on a walk and created a campaign against cancer.
Gordy, a colorectal surgeon in Washington, wanted to support his local American Cancer Society office. In 1985, he decided to circle a track at the University of Puget Sound for 24 hours. His family and friends donated $25 each to walk with him, and they raised $27,000. Relay for Life was born.
In honor of Relay’s 35th anniversary, the City of Athens Relay for Life Team is selling Vintage Relay T-shirts as a fundraiser. The Comfort Color dark gray shirts have a vintage look with a Relay ribbon on the front, and the words, “35 Years Strong. Fighting cancer never goes out of style!” on the back.
The short and long sleeve shirts are $20 each or $22 for 2X and 3X. The team is taking pre-orders through Oct. 18. To pre-order a shirt, email Team Captain Holly Hollman at hhollman@athensal.us or call Kim Glaze at 256-233-8730.
Money raised will support the American Cancer Society’s programs such as research grants, lodging assistance, awareness campaigns and support hotline. According to American Cancer Society’s most recent figures, in 2017, more than 1.3 million people received assistance from its toll-free hotline and more than 450,000 stayed at no cost at a Hope Lodge near a treatment facility. As of August 2018, ACS funded $410 million in cancer research projects.
