City, partners mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month
with mammogram event, other activities
COVINGTON, Ky. – Pink, the power color of breast cancer awareness, will be the City of Covington’s veritable signature color throughout October as the City and its partners mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a variety of activities and events.
“There will be no doubt that the City is committed to ‘Paint The Cov Pink,’ ” said Economic Development Director Tom West, referencing the City’s catchphrase for its efforts.
Among those efforts:
- Covington police officers are wearing pink badges.
- The windows at City Hall are aglow with pink-colored lights.
- City employees will wear “Paint the Cov Pink” shirts, printed by Egelston-Maynard Sports, on Fridays (and perhaps other days).
- The City is urging residents to recycle cardboard in October, because Rumpke Waste & Recycling will donate $1,000 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every percentage increase.
- And the City is hosting an event in Latonia on Oct. 10 that will include screenings by appointment at the St. Elizabeth Mammogram mobile unit (details below) and decorative chalk drawing.
With the “Paint The Cov Pink” effort, City officials hope to increase breast cancer awareness, said West, who said almost every person in Covington he talks to – both men and women – has been impacted by the disease.
“My mother is a survivor, so when Donna Salyers, one of our City’s most successful businesswomen, asked the City to participate, I was proud to be on board, as was our staff, most of whom have their own personal connections to the disease,” he said.
Salyers, president and founder of the internationally known Fabulous Furs, is chairing the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K on Oct. 23 at Yeatman’s Cove across the Ohio River. She knows the importance of awareness and cancer research all too well.
“Breakthrough research by the American Cancer Society has saved many, many people, including our son Scott, now a healthy survivor,” Salyers said. “I’m honored to chair Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, paying the debt on his recovery as well as supporting those struggling and those not so lucky as Scott.”
‘Pink’ at work AND home
Recently the City sent an email to businesses urging them to sponsor their own “Pink” efforts, and several of them have already sent pictures of decorated storefronts and dressed-up staff. Other suggestions (many of which can be taken up by residents as well) included:
- Stringing pink lights across a patio.
- Putting pink bulbs in lampposts or a pink lamp in a window.
- Pink-themed window displays.
- Decorating front doors with bodacious pink bows.
- Having employees don pink attire, shoes, and accessories.
- Putting pink collars on dogs and cats.
- Developing pink-themed food and cocktails on menus.
Chalk & mammograms
On Oct. 10, the City is sponsoring a “Chalk Tribute for Breast Cancer Awareness Event” that combines fun AND a serious purpose.
The two-part event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot in front of ReGadget at 4293 Winston Ave. in Latonia (formerly the Burlington Coat Outlet Factory parking lot).
- The St. Elizabeth Mammogram mobile unit will offer mammogram screenings, and note that an appointment is required and must be made by Oct. 8. Call (859) 655-7400 to do so.
- In the “chalk” part of the event, individuals or teams can reserve a 16-inch by 16-inch square on the parking lot to create, design, or write a chalk message to pay tribute to someone with breast cancer, whether they are currently in treatment, “beat” the disease, or died from it. Chalk will be provided, but you can bring your own. Registration is suggested but not mandatory for the chalk art project HERE or by emailing info@covingtonky.gov.
All donations from the Chalk Tribute for Breast Cancer Awareness Event go to the local breast cancer support group Chicks & Chucks.
“It is important that we do everything we can to keep our community healthy, and awareness of the danger is a first step,” West said.
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