A sea of pink overtook Whiting’s Oil Stadium on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Whiting’s Paint the Town Pink hosted a “Stomp Out Cancer” 5K Run/Walk to raise money for the Pink Ribbon Society.
Paint the Town Pink organizes 4 events in Whiting every year to raise money for breast cancer awareness. This year, one of their fundraising goals will have a heavy impact on the Northwest Indiana community.
“We’re trying to raise money for the first Northwest Indiana mobile mammogram unit,” said Paint the Town Pink Co-chair Kathleen Ulm. “ We hope that it’s able to go into communities where people aren’t willing to go to the hospital to get tested due to financial concerns. It will come to them, they will be able to walk up and be tested and get follow ups too. We want to reach out to people.”
The 5K is the first event of this year’s series and the first sunny day for the 5K since Paint the Town Pink started 7 years ago, so participants and organizers were overjoyed to spend a beautiful day together for a incredible cause. Nearly 200 people walked or ran in the 5K Saturday morning; families walked together, local Girl Scouts cheered them on, and everyone wore their pink shirts.
The people behind Paint the Town Pink love their week of hard work and fundraising. Ulm said “Everybody knows someone who’s been touched by breast cancer. It feels so good that we’re raising money for a good cause.”
One family had #TeamVeronica on the back of their shirts, a show of support for a woman who has
“She’s a really strong person, and she’s always doing everything for everyone,” said LisaMarie Dafnis, Veronica’s daughter, who, with nearly 30 family members, walked together in their #TeamVeronica shirt. “She’s been through so much and we want to support her.”
Whiting Mayor Joe Stahura joined in the day's festivities Saturday morning in solidarity with women fighting breast cancer.
“Paint the Town Pink does a great job every year and every year it gets a little bigger,” Stahura said. “We always welcome these events. If you don’t see pink in Whiting in May than something is wrong.”
Paint the Town pInk’s first event planned for the City of Whiting was a hit with volunteers and people supporting family members, friends, and even people they haven’t met. Next, Paint the Town Pink will be at the Whiting Cruise Night. Between 5-9 p.m., people will be able to pay $5 to paint a car as a tribute to those fighting Breast Cancer. The event after that will be on May 20th at 7 p.m. It’s called “Not your Mama’s Bunco Night” and it will be hosted at Center Lounge.
The final event will be on May 21st and will feature a “Battin’ for Boobies” fundraising softball game at Whiting Little League Field. Spectators and fans will be able to cheer on the Whiting Police and Fire against the YMCA team in a game at 1:30. The softball game is free.
“We want to get the entire community involved,” explained Lora Shade, a volunteer for Saturday’s event. “I’m excited to see everyone come out and enjoy. And it’s all for a great cause.”
For more information about Paint the Town Pink and to donate to an important cause, go to www.breastcarenow.org.
