The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and people all around the country are participating in activities to raise awareness about breast cancer.
Sports teams often wear pink accessories during games, organizations around the country hold races or other events in their communities and at Wake Forest, the Panhellenic Council hosted its annual Breast Cancer Fashion Show. The fashion show is a tradition on campus, and it raises awareness and money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation to aid in finding a cure.
Statistically one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer throughout their lives, so this event raised awareness about an issue that affects a large proportion of the population in one way or another.
Many Panhellenic members get involved in this event during their time at Wake Forest, because it is an event that unites the community in a way that makes a positive difference.
The event involved various members of the Forsyth County community, including local businesses that donated their products for the silent auction, retail stores that offered their clothes to be modeled in the show and the breast cancer survivors who shared their stories of battling cancer. The fashion show brought together different groups from Wake Forest and the community at large for a night of fashion, fun and philanthropy.
Wake Forest students served on committees, as co-chairs and as models in the fashion show in order to help the event come together. One member from each sorority served as the model for her organization and modeled casual and formal fall outfits from stores Bevello, Loft, Boho Blu, Dillards and J. McLaughlin.
Other students participated in the show with their musical groups. Wake Forest acapella groups the Demon Divas and Plead the Fifth performed several songs while members of Wake Radio played music while models and their escorts took on the catwalk.
“It was great to perform for such a good cause,” said junior Aubrey Shimp, a member of Plead the Fifth. “We were happy to participate and play a role in helping to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.”
Sophomore Sanaa Jain, a co-chair of the fashion show, noted how much behind-the-scenes work went into the creation of the show. “It was a group effort. It took lots of different people to make this event as successful as it was,” she said. “We’ve been working on it since last May, and it was so exciting to see it all come together tonight. We’re really happy with how everything turned out.”
This year, the Breast Cancer Fashion Show raised $3,743 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, including $700 raised by the members of Delta Kappa Epsilon. Students who participated in the event noted that it was particularly rewarding because they were doing something philanthropic and also making new friends along the way.
“This event is really special because it raises awareness about breast cancer and it raises unity within the Panhellenic sororities and within non-Panhellenic students, too,” said senior Ashton Caudle, the vice president of civic engagement for the Panhellenic Council. “So many people came together for a common goal, and I made a ton of new friends that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”
A highlight of the show was when the five breast cancer survivors in attendance shared their stories with the audience. The women were from all over the country but said that they felt like they shared a special bond because of what they had all overcome. They encouraged others to get screenings, to pay attention to your body’s signals and to continue fighting whatever battles you may encounter in life.
“The event was really inspiring and we had a great turnout,” said senior Olivia Rovelli, a co-chair of the fashion show. “We raised a lot of money and awareness about breast cancer, which is something so many people can relate to.”
