Campus charity events raise awareness, funds for breast cancer

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is wrapping up later this week, but fundraising efforts at Penn are still going strong.

Nearly 200 people ran in the sixth annual five-kilometer Rena Rowan Ribbon Run organized by the Panhellenic Council on Sunday afternoon, and more events are planned for this weekend.

College senior and Panhellenic Council Chairwoman Hayley Gross said that participants included students, visiting parents and track team members. Drexel University's running club also showed up to lend support.

College senior Dana McCurdy, who helped coordinate the run, said that this year Panhel promoted the run to a broader community.

In the past five years, the council had promoted the run primarily to the Greek community.

"Breast cancer affects all people," McCurdy said. "We have to look to a larger group."

Starting at 1 p.m. on Penn's compass on 37th and Locust streets, participants ran down to 33rd Street and circled back to the compass.

"It was raining all weekend and someone really wanted us to have a successful race," Gross said in reference to Sunday's good weather. "We were so excited it turned out so well."

McCurdy said that future runs should provide breast-cancer education ahead of time since the run's purpose is to raise money through promoting awareness. This year, organizers handed out some information about breast cancer during registration for the run.

"I think the best thing is that everyone had a great time; everyone was smiling," McCurdy said. "That's more important [than] how much money we made."

So far the event has raised $5,000, and Gross said that that number is likely to rise significantly as Greek houses continue bringing in funds through T-shirt sales. In the past five years, the Rena Rowan Ribbon Run has raised more than $50,000 for the Rena Rowan Center.

Rena Rowan, the co-founder of women's clothing company Jones Apparel Group and an Abramson Cancer Center patient, started the Rena Rowan Breast Center at Penn's Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute in 2000.

Rowan's Breast Center isn't the only organization raising money for breast-cancer research at Penn this month.

According to Kirat Kharode, an administrator at the breast cancer center, Oct. 27 through 29 will feature the Saks Fifth Avenue Key to the Cure event, which will raise funds for breast-cancer research at the Abramson Research Institute.

The event kicks off with a party at the store and will feature live entertainment, a live auction and free gifts from local restaurants and drink suppliers.

"All of these events are terrific ways for the general public to become more aware of the need to find a cure for breast cancer and to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of survivors, remarkable women who have been doing so much," Kharode said.

"It's never too early [for female Penn students] to care about getting mammograms and care about [their] breasts' health," he added.

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