A group of young volunteers has come up with an eye-catching way to raise the profile of their fundraiser. About 25 people took part in a flash mob at the St.
A group of young volunteers has come up with an eye-catching way to raise the profile of their fundraiser.
About 25 people took part in a flash mob at the St. Albert Farmers' Market last Saturday to kick off the fundraising drive leading up to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's 12th annual Batting Against Breast Cancer slo-pitch tournament at Meadowview Diamonds in St. Albert Sept. 11 to 13.
Catherine O'Neill, the development officer with the foundation's Alberta and Northwest Territories region, said the money from this event will all go to benefit breast cancer research.
While the teams taking part will be expected to raise a minimum of $2,500 each, that's the only requirement – nobody needs to be a professional slo-pitcher to take part.
“Every skill level is welcome,” she said. “And we have family-friendly events on site.”
There will be a family fun zone that will include crafts, bean-bag tosses, face painting and similar activities, and for the adults looking to celebrate there will be a fully-licensed dugout for a little beer pong between games.
O'Neill said while events to raise awareness of and funds for breast cancer are fairly common, this in no way diminishes the need. One in nine women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and it's the most common form of cancer for women.
Furthermore, she said projections are that the number of new cases of breast cancer will increase by 79 per cent over the next 17 years.
“That's a pretty alarming number,” she said. “We have increased the five-year survival rate, but it's still there. People are still getting breast cancer.”
Ping Wee and Fahed Elian who are volunteering with the event organizing committee, said they have a personal desire to get involved because they're also graduate students at the University of Alberta who are engaged in breast-cancer research.
Elian explained his research involves potential treatments that have yet to be approved for human use.
“For me, I work on a drug approved to treat breast cancer, running clinical trials and trying to find the problems with the drug,” he said.
Wee said of all the ways to get involved, donating to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is one of the best because the foundation puts an emphasis on pure-science research as opposed to research geared toward potentially making a profit.
“I just wanted to get involved because of the work they do,” he said.
For more information, visit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's website at www.cbcf.org.
