Even though the entire weekend has been unseasonably
FREEZING and rainy here in MD, this morning I still got up extra early for a good cause. Bright and early at 6 AM, I tugged on a few pairs of my extra thick socks (which absolutely
killed me), layered until I didn't think I could layer anymore, and dug out the super fuzzy gloves and scarves. "What in the world could have caused this sunshine baby to even imagine venturing outside on such a day?", you might ask. Well, today was the
25th Annual Race for the Cure to fight breast cancer, here in MD. The fight against breast cancer is one that is near and dear to my heart, as I have had a few friends lose some people who meant a lot to them to the horrible disease.
Around my junior year of college, I was presented with the opportunity to organize a fundraiser for
the Susan G. Komen fund, to stop breast cancer. It was called
"Passionately Pink for a Cure" and since Phi Mu is
the pink sorority, I thought it would be perfect to ask for the help of my sisters to support this great cause! I organized a bake sale of sorts, where all the sisters donated a baked or cute pink item, like awareness ribbons. Susan G. Komen mailed me a TON of pink rubber awareness bracelets and we set up shop in the middle of campus one October day. We offered complimentary baked goods and pink items for those who donated anything, even a penny. People who gave $5 or more were able to take one of the awareness bracelets. In one day, just by asking for any type of donation, we raised over $300 for breast cancer research! Well, it was such a hit that we decided to keep doing it, every year from them on!
Even now that I'm an alumni, my chapter still particpates in Passionately Pink each fall, which makes me feel rea
lly proud. I left my mark on Phi Mu in a way that was important and made a difference. Last year, some of the other alumni thought that we should do more for Susan G. Komen. We decided to get a team together to walk in the Race for the Cure! There were about 30 of us that came out last year and it was so much fun that we have made it a yearly tradition!
As I said, I woke up nice and early to head up to UMBC and meet up with Krains. We weren't quite sure where we were going, and even though we got lost briefly (we should have just listened to Blanche, my GPS), we still made it with plenty of time before the race was underway! (I was very proud of us, since neither Krains nor myself are very directionally inclined) Anyway, we met up with the rest of our Phi Mu team,
Pink Paws Walking for a Cause, a cute play on words for our national lion mascot, Sir Fidel. We walked around the "Race Village" for about an hour and scooped up a ton of free, PINK! breast cancer awareness items, including some delish peppermint chapstick that I am wearing right now!
Due to the cold and rain, there weren't quite as many team members as last year. Only about 8 of us actually came to the walk this morning, but many others donated to the good cause. We decided to do the full 5K walk, since we were late and could only walk the one mile last year. the 3.1 miles really did fly by, which was good because we were almost posicles by the end! Even though it was freezing and wet, it was still so much fun to get together with some women that I really care about and do something to help others. I can't wait for next year! (Let's just hope that it's a little bit warmer and drier!)
If you want to donate your time or money to breast cancer research, please visit
www.komen.org
However, as you can see, my car is currently parked on the sidewalk in front of my house and sadly, most likely not moving for at least one more day. To top it all off, Antonio is equally as stuck at his house 15 minutes away. I'm getting pretty lonely over here...
