The Residence Halls Association is hosting its third annual Paint it Pink week Oct. 6-10.
Proceeds raised from this week’s worth of daily events and donations will be given to the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. RHA took a pledge to donate $20,000 over five years.
“This money will go on to do great things for Ellis Fischel,” RHA Programming Coordinator Kadarius Burgess said. “You just don’t know many people you affect with your effort.”
RHA is expecting to raise over $5,000 this year with its many opportunities to donate. A majority of the proceeds come from t-shirt donations, and the rest will be from a “plate smash” event, a tailgate and a fundraiser night at Shakespeare’s Pizza.
“I think breast cancer is one of those things where there already is an extreme amount of awareness, but really getting the philanthropy out there and actually making the money … is where we really want to try and put as much emphasis on,” RHA Chief Justice Lane Adams said.
The money will fund Ellis Fischel’s mammogram van, which is used to give free clinical breast exams to women who cannot afford to get one in north and central Missouri. The center also provide breast health education for women.
“All of the money that was raised during Paint it Pink week goes directly to the mammogram van, so that we can make sure that we are fighting breast cancer and trying to get rid of it in the state of Missouri,” RHA Vice President Brooke Wiggins said.
The fifth annual Passionately P!NKed Out Photo was taken Monday at Tiger Plaza.
This year, RHA will be adding new activities for students to participate in. One of the additions is a tailgate prior to Mizzou volleyball’s match against Auburn on Friday.
RHA will provide free food, raffles and lawn games for the public. Donation buckets will be set up to help raise additional funds.
The tailgate will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Hearnes Center fieldhouse before the 6:30 p.m. match.
“It’s open to anybody,” Wiggins said. “It’s probably going to be a lot bigger than we originally expected it to be. And (RHA) will be there in Hearnes during the volleyball game as well, and normally during halftime we have a game of tug-of-war going on.”
In addition to the tailgate, RHA also hosted a “plate smash” at Speaker’s Circle on Tuesday. The event started at 11 a.m. and ran until all 50 plates were smashed.
To ensure students’ safety, RHA will provide protective gear and will have students smash plates inside a box to help contain the mess.
Shakespeare’s Pizza will be holding a fundraiser Thursday evening, from which 15 percent of sales will be donated to the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center.
Campus Dining Services will also be having a pink meal Wednesday at all residential dining halls.
“It’s a wonderful thing,” Wiggins said. “We always talk about how we’re One Mizzou and how we’re always here for one another, so why aren’t we supporting those with breast cancer just a little bit more? Ellis Fischel and Paint it Pink week are wonderful ways to see how we can do that in a week.”
