We are asking faith communities to partner with us to help their communities to Act PINK when it comes to their breast health. What does it mean to Act PINK?
- Act Prayerfully: When someone says they are going to pray about something, they thoughtfully examine an issue or question and seek clarity through prayer to a higher power. When we are making a decision about our healthcare, we also need to thoughtfully examine the information we have and our feelings on the issue.
- Act Intentionally: After being prayerful about our health, we need to act intentionally and be proactive with our care. Schedule that mammogram. Ask your doctor about your risk factors for breast cancer. Make a decision about how you want to go about your own health.
- Act Now: There’s no time like the present to seek more information about your health and risk for cancer. The earlier a cancer is caught, the better the outcome can be, and the earlier we can talk to our healthcare providers about a family history of breast cancer, offering more time we have to decide what actions we want to take to reduce our risk of cancer.
- Act with Knowledge: This is where the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation comes in. Sign your faith community up for our Act PINK program today!
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the program look like? What would my organization do?
Short answer: Anything you want – Design a program that works best for your organization! Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Dedicate the day’s service to breast cancer survivors or those lost to breast cancer. Have special ribbons, necklaces, etc. for survivors to wear and have pink candles available for people to light or some other way for people to honor those they have lost.
- Ask a few survivors from your organization to speak on their experience.
- Host a reception with pink food and pink lemonade.
VBCF provides educational materials, a basic class curriculum you can use in small groups, and some pink giveaway items. You can do as little or as much as you would like. Whatever you do, we’d like to hear about it! Send us some pictures, some responses to the program, or any unique activities or experiences from your organization. We’d love to be able to share pictures on social media and/or share your ideas with future program participants.
When should we offer the program?
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is in October, but breast cancer happens all throughout the year. Your faith organization can participate anytime you would like.
Here are some ideas of when to participate outside of October:
- March: Women’s History Month
- May: Mother’s Day
- June: National Cancer Survivors Month
- If you’ve had a member recently diagnosed
- If a member is celebrating a survivorship milestone
Who can participate in this program?
All faith organizations in the state of Virginia are invited to participate in this program. If our current offerings don’t feel like the right fit for your group, VBCF would love to work with you to expand our toolkit.
Does VBCF provide speakers?
VBCF recommends each faith organization find a congregation member to serve as a speaker, because stories from within your community always have more impact.
VBCF can offer our Stay Abreast presentation, a breast health 101 PowerPoint with notes that speakers can follow. VBCF does have trained volunteer breast health awareness speakers; however, speakers are limited and will be scheduled based on availability. To request a speaker for your service, please contact the VBCF office at least three weeks in advance by filling out our Speaker Request Form.
Sign Us Up!
Click the button below to register or call 800-345-8223. VBCF will work with you to coordinate a time to send out education packets when they become available.
