The month of October is a month to celebrate many things. The pumpkin spice latte is the highlight of the Starbucks menu, football season is in full swing and Halloween is just around the corner. But more importantly, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month – a time to celebrate those who have fought and survived, a time to remember those we have lost from the terrible disease and a time to spread awareness.
The sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha work hard to promote Breast Cancer Education and Awareness as their main philanthropy both on and off campus. Since October is such a special month for raising breast cancer awareness, ZTA at the University of Maryland invites everyone to participate in “Think Pink Week” – a week full of pink, philanthropy and fun!
The ZTA sisters at Maryland have held Think Pink Week for many years now. However, this year will be remarkably different from prior years. Claire Zahavi, ZTA Director of Philanthropy, has held her position for almost two years now. She has been striving to continue to improve Think Pink Week and hopes to continue to raise awareness on campus and have more students involved. “Aside from our 2nd Annual Crown Classic Golf Tournament fundraiser held in November, we decided to devote think pink week strictly to bringing awareness to women’s health issues and early detection and prevention,” Zahavi says.
The ZTA sisters will be “painting the campus pink” on Sunday, October 13th to remind the UMD community about the importance of awareness and knowledge of how cancer affects people and ways to lower the chances of being diagnosed with the disease. Zeta Tau Alpha is combining efforts with The American Medical Women’s Association, The National Council of Negro Women, Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Alpha Order to host a flower ceremony to honor those affected by breast cancer. “People are welcome to come and drop a flower in the mall fountain signifying their support for the fight against breast cancer and/or to honor someone who has had breast cancer,” says Jigisha Srivastav, ZTA’s On-Campus Philanthropy Chair. Pink ribbons will also be handed out on Tuesday, October 15th and Thursday, October 16th on McKeldin Mall.
The sisters of ZTA are strongly pushing awareness on social media this year to help promote the pink-filled week. “We will have an awesome awareness video that will come out at the beginning of Think Pink Week. The idea for the video is to involve as much of campus as possible and show the combined fight and support we have for those suffering from breast cancer. We hope this video can go viral because the more people who are aware of breast cancer, the healthier the choices we can make,” Zahavi says.
Monday: Paint the campus pink and Think Pink Week Kick-Off — Flower Ceremony at 5 p.m. on McKeldin Mall (postponed from Sunday)
Monday: Video release
Tuesday: Ribboning on the mall
Thursday: Ribboning on McKeldin Mall and ZTA sponsors KA’s “Breastfest”
Friday November 1st: Crown Classic Golf Tournament and Luncheon
Photos by Krista Stucchio