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[7]By Jordan Merkley [8]
BELLEVILLE – October is here, bringing with it Breast Cancer Awareness Month [9].
Local residents gathered at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre [10] Thursday to kick things off, and bras were strung around the building to promote awareness.
The Belleville fire department, volunteers, cancer survivors, members of the Canadian Cancer Society [11] and more came out to support the cause. Belleville nail salon Liv Nail Bliss [12]was also there, giving pink manicures.
Brad Warner, fundraising co-ordinator for the cancer society, told QNet News that mammograms are the most important part of breast-cancer awareness:
http://www.qnetnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/selection-from-brest-cancer-0235pm.mp3 [13]
There are many ways to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One of the major fundraisers happening in the city of Belleville is a game of Bra Tag. There will be three aprons with bras attached to them, and locals will be challenged to stuff the bra with $100, and then pass it on to a friend, family member or co-worker.
A group of volunteers will take the aprons to whoever is tagged, so residents are urged to be ready.
“Bra Tag is a fun way to raise funds to support local women in our community and gives (the cancer society) a way to push the survival rate up higher,” said Amy Doyle, community office manager of the local branch of the society. “It is a new initiative that we are hoping everyone has fun with and really promotes our message that mammograms save lives.”
The game of bra tag begins on Monday, and will continue for two weeks in Belleville and, for one day each in Quinte West, Brighton, Tyendinaga, Bancroft and Picton. You can follow along with the game of bra tag on Twitter by searching #bratag.
Other ways to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month include buying and wearing pink ribbons, buying a ticket for the Heels for Hope [14] fundraising event on Oct. 16, or doing your own fundraising.
Five dollars from each pink manicure done at Liv Nail Bliss in October will also be donated to breast-cancer research.