Get in the Pink

The charity, which spends more than £15m a year on breast cancer research, is urging people across Hampshire to sign up now for a Get in the Pink fundraising pack for ideas to join in the fun.

Suggestions of how to raise money include organising a Get in the Pink day at work, school or college and being sponsored for wearing pink from head to toe, or organising a girls' night out in pink wigs.

Or you can simply buy a pink ribbon from your local Cancer Research UK charity shop for a suggested donation of £1.

One couple who wanted to help were Beryl and Richard Blanche, proprietors of the Earl of Locksley pub in Middle Road, Sholing, Southampton.

The pub organises a Miss World-style competition every year to raise money for a different charity.

When Beryl and Richard heard about the deaths of five local parents - two of whom were women who had breast cancer - who all had children in Year One at St Monica Infant School, they were touched by the tragedy.

The couple decided to make Cancer Research UK their charity of choice for this year's Miss Locksley 2003.

The event was the first Get in the Pink held in Hampshire this year and the whole pub was transformed for the evening.

Beryl, 54, said: "We also have customers in the same situation and the impact on me and my husband was that it was terrible.

"We thought that would be a good, productive reason to aid the research into cancer related to mothers and young women, which affect the whole family and everyone in our pub."

Seven contestants took part in the competition and were each sponsored by a customer to answer questions about why they visited the pub and what they would do to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Every customer in the pub was a judge for the contest and the winner walked away with £30 gift vouchers as well as a professional photo.

Beryl said: "Last year we raised £300 for charity and this year we've raised £600-plus because I'm still collecting it in.

"We've still got the box in here with the pink ribbons and that evening the whole bar was decorated with pink balloons.

"It was a huge success."

Another team of fundraisers in Southampton has a much more obvious reason for Getting in the Pink - they work for the Cancer Research UK Oncology and Clinical Trials Unit.

Based at Southampton General Hospital, the unit will be one year old this month and is famous for its work on cancers of the white blood cells and lymph glands.

The team there is developing anti-cancer vaccines and treatment using the immune system to fight tumours.

But there will be an element of fun in the work when staff organise a Painting the Labs Pink day on October 16.

Prof Peter Johnson, professor of medical oncology and director of the unit, is helping to organise the fundraiser and will be donning a pink lab coat in honour of the event.

He said: "The Cancer Sciences Division in Southampton is carrying out a great deal of work to help improve the outlook for people with breast cancer.

"We have some of the country's leading projects to identify abnormal genes in the cancer cells, to develop vaccines to help the immune system fight cancer and to develop new chemotherapy drugs as well.

"All of this vital research needs money to keep it moving forward."

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

THERE are lots of ways to Get in the Pink and have fun while helping to cure breast cancer faster:

Get together with a few friends or work colleagues and host a pink party with pink champagne, pink cakes and pink ice cream.

Negotiate a Get in the Pink day at work, school or college and get sponsored for wearing pink from head to toe.

Stand out from the crowd in one of Cancer Research UK's designer Get in the Pink (£8) or Precious (£10) T-shirts - available from www.cancerresearchuk.org/breastcancer

Organise a girl's night out all wearing pink wigs (£10) from the Cancer Research UK website.

If pink wigs are not your thing, how about pink pigs? Birthdays stores across the UK are stocking a limited edition Miss Piggy badge in two designs.

Pop into your local Cancer Research UK shop and pick up a pink ribbon for a suggested donation of £1.

For more ideas on how to Get in the Pink, or to register for Stride for Life, call your local Cancer Research UK fundraising office on 08701 602040.