Hundreds of thousands of women and men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and the Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation acknowledges breast cancer awareness month every October by running the Passionately Pink for the Cure program.

Student Services Coordinator for the School of Communication and Information Mary Beth Hager brings the global movement to the University each year, asking students and organizations to make donations.

“This campaign is a way for anyone here at the School of Communication and Information to feel good about trying to rid the world of this terrible disease — both for men and women alike,” Hager said.

Running the campaign for the past five years, Hager said it initially started as a way to remember her family members who have passed away from the disease and those still struggling to fight it now.

About one-quarter of the net proceeds will go directly to breast cancer research and the other three-quarters will go to community-based education, screening and treatment programs, Hager said.

Last year the campaign collected $410, with contributions from the Association for Women in Communications, the Public Relations Student Society of America, as well as other students and faculty, she said.

AWC President Lindsey Sacks said the organization also plans to donate to the campaign this year.

“We are a women’s group, and we want to help other women retain their strength by giving money to this cause,” said Sacks, a School of Arts and Sciences junior.

The AWC will be holding a bake sale tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the second floor of the School of Communication and Information building to aid the campaign.

Many people know family or friends who have or had breast cancer, and the AWC would like to help them as much as they can, Sacks said. Researchers are continuously finding causes of breast cancer that conflict with women’s everyday habits such as physical activity and birth control usage.

“I feel it is extremely important to promote awareness and make money for the cure because this type of cancer is becoming more common,” Sacks said.
Established in 1982, Passionately Pink for the Cure was founded by Susan G. Komen’s sister, Nancy G. Brinker, after Komen passed away from breast cancer.

The foundation is now a leader in the global breast cancer movement, according to the foundation’s official Web site.

This year’s campaign is off to a slow start, perhaps due to the troubled economy, Hager said. The campaign will accept any donation, no matter how small, and every cent will help.