By KATRINA BRANDON
“COLOUR me in,” pink was on last month, with Newborough’s Rutherglen Road going pink for June to raise awareness and fundraise for breast cancer.
For the first time setting up an event like this, Genesis Disability Daily Support Service Manager, Carly Griffiths decided it was time to do something, and she wanted it to involve the businesses around her.
“It sort of just popped in my brain that I was going to register, and I registered right then and there,” she said.
“Since COVID-19, our little street has become very quiet, but I went around and spoke to everybody. Everybody was so happy to be involved and do their own little part. I have set a goal out there to raise $2000. My main aim was to bring our community together and just get the awareness out there, and with that, I managed to get most of the shops to put their pink things in their windows.”
After going pink, Ms Griffiths said she would attempt to do more fundraisers going forward, getting more people and businesses involved in raising awareness on different issues.
As a disability/NDIS provider, she hopes to be able to move on to raising awareness for things such as MS, autism, cerebral palsy and diabetes, with the plan of fundraising twice a year.
But wait, isn’t October the month for breast cancer? Yes, it is.
Ms Griffiths told the Express that while October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Go Pink Month of June is a community-based fundraiser that raises awareness and brings the community together.
“A lot of it is just people building that courage to go around and talk to people. Since COVID-19, many people just don’t talk to anyone anymore. So, I think if people just try and build that community within their community, that will bring people together at the end of the day,” she said.
“The minute you get that initial step out there, you are on your way. As soon as I saw the enthusiasm from everyone, I was taken aback. It was great. They didn’t have to, but everyone stepped up.”
During June, Ms Griffiths went around town and asked the other Rutherglen Rd businesses to join, and got the shops to put up pink and QR codes for donations.
Learning from her first fundraising effort, Ms Griffiths said that next time, she will reach out sooner to her neighbours, given how much they have supported the fundraiser, and she welcomes more to join her fundraising team.
Currently, the Genesis team has raised $1665.
But the fundraising doesn’t stop at the end of June. People can continue giving to the cause by going to: fundraise.nbcf.org.au/fundraisers/Genesisddss/go-pink
