Breast cancer month begins

Sorority events aimed at campus and community

By Vivian Yun, contributing writer  
Posted on October 8, 2007

After Abby Weaver’s best friend survived breast cancer, she decided that it was time to warn others about the risks of the deadly illness.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority has planned events for the Harrisonburg and JMU community.  All proceeds benefit breast cancer education and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

“Zeta inspired me to get involved,” Weaver said. “People encourage each other and I stepped up and took the opportunity.”

ZTA raised around $12,000 last year and $16,000 the year before. This year, it hopes to raise between $15,000 to $16,000.

“We just want people to get involved in our events and get the philanthropy out there,” philanthropy co-chair Jenny Barber said.

Survivor Night, an evening dedicated to those who have won the fight against breast cancer, will feature keynote speaker Karen Babb, a breast cancer survivor who works for the American Cancer Society.   While in the past the event featured a panel of representatives from the Rockingham Memorial Reconstruction Center, this year only Babb will speak.

“It’s interesting because we took a different direction, and I’m really excited about the different format,” co-committee head of Survivor Night, Casey Hazlegrove, said.

ZTA members seemed to be excited about launching the events this month.

“I feel that we get so much support from the university and the community and that people really care about this cause,” Barber said. “There are so many girls who have been affected [in the sorority], and it’s really great to have people behind us. We are glad to do it and we put a lot of work into it every year.”

Students are also excited about the group’s events.

“I learned how much of an impact you can make as a group,” sophomore Lexy Mayer said.  “It’s a pretty good experience.”

By attending these events for Breast Cancer Awareness, Hazlegrove hopes women will gain knowledge about the symptoms of cancer.

“Although I don’t have a history of breast cancer in my family, I hope to gain more knowledge of the signs of breast cancer by attending these events,” freshman Kimiko Red said.

Sophomore Kathleen Crosser agreed.

“You can really see what it is that [ZTA is] doing [and] what’s new about breast cancer that I haven’t heard about yet,” she said. 

ZTA is not only doing this to inform the public about breast cancer.

“We love to have JMU and the community involved,” public relations chair Alison Ward said.

“It feels amazing and it’s so great to see that we provided that happiness to others,” she said. “We love to raise money, have fun and it’s always a great time in October.”

Events planned throughout the month include the Susan G. Komen 5K, which drew more than 250 participants, the Breastival (information stands set up around the Festival Center providing information on how to give a breast self-exam and other facts about the cancer), car washes, a late night breakfast and Survivor Night.

In addition to these events, ZTA is selling T-shirts and Breast Cancer Awareness cookbooks at all events.