The purpose of this initiative was to raise eyebrows, interrupt conversations, cause questions and raise awareness in the close-out of Breast Cancer Awareness Month; to educate, enable and to empower.
Research has shown that there is still a need to build awareness of breast cancer and to advocate for the need for greater research on the treatment for it. We also wanted women to know that it is very important to have regular checks for breast cancer because it is more effective to treat the disease at an early stage rather than long after it is diagnosed. This was essentially a media awareness campaign, but we were also able to interact personally with the staff and shoppers.
The project involved club members going to speak with the workers and shoppers at Massy Stores about all aspects of breast cancer and the work Soroptimists. At the roundabout outside the store, which was decorated with pink cut-out ribbons bearing the cancer awareness logo, they were joined by ten men from LMCS, In Cor Tech and Eriu. Everyone was dressed in pink as planned. Photographs were taken taken for social media and the print press, a press release was prepared, the Communications Officer was interviewed for the newspaper article. https://sigbi.org/esperance/read-all-about-it/
We targeted Massy Stores, a national supermarket chain, as it had a large cooperative, interested staff and many shoppers who could also be involved. The posed photographs on the roundabout caused quite a stir among passers by, particularly because of the incongruity of the ‘Men in Pink’. Thousands of people would have seen the article and photographs on our boosted Facebook posting, and the Trinidad Newsday print and digital feature. We highlighted breast cancer and the work of Soroptimists.
Quote from a beneficiary “This has really made me think! I must make the effort to do something about getting a breast check.”