Last week, Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) dedicated their time to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer efforts during their Think Pink Week.
Healthcare systems administration junior Erin Crummel was the coordinator for Think Pink Week. “I just started it this year,” Crummel said. “Hopefully it will go again next year since we’ve been successful so far.”
Crummel said she heard about other campuses hosting a successful Think Pink Week so she started one here at Ferris.
“It turns out, if you do a whole week of events, you get a better turnout, eventually raising more money we put towards our cause,” Crummel said.
Think Pink Week kicked off on Monday with ZTA members passing out pink ribbons on campus and talking about their philanthropy, which is focused on breast cancer education and awareness. Next was the Tuesday Panera Bread fundraiser, where community members and students could bring in event flyers and have 20 percent of the proceeds go to ZTA’s philanthropy.
“So far they’ve gone really well,” political science senior and ZTA member Jamie Richardson said. “A lot of people showed up to Panera, so that’s really great. A lot of people are posting pictures on our event wall.”
Richardson said breast cancer has affected her life indirectly through the parents of her close friends from high school.
“Right after graduation, three of their moms were diagnosed with breast cancer,” Richardson said. “So that affected me because I was close with those friends.”
Crummel’s life has also been impacted by the disease.
“My grandma is a survivor of breast cancer, but it’s also genetic, so my mom might get it or I might get it, but we don’t know,” said Crummel. “So it’s very close to my heart.”
Wednesday was the Pie a ZTA event, where you could donate a dollar to smash a pie in the face of a ZTA.
Thursday was a pumpkin smash, and Friday passersby in the IRC wrote down a loved one who has been affected by breast cancer on a heart, which they could purchase to help donate to the cause.
The week concluded with a dodge ball tournament on Saturday.
In total, Think Pink Week raised over $1,000.