Daniela Weaver Photography
Pink Alliance’s signature fundraiser, Surviving & Thriving Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon, is back this September for its 18th annual event. The featured speaker for the 2021 luncheon will be television personality and breast cancer awareness advocate, Lori Allen.
“Part of the problem last year was that so many of the individuals that we want to be there at the luncheon have a compromised health condition,” says Pink Alliance board member Patricia Gerling. “We knew that it was going to be very difficult for anyone going through breast cancer treatments to attend.” Pink Alliance decided to put the luncheon on pause in 2020, even though it is their only yearly fundraising event. “So many things stopped because of COVID. But one thing that didn't was cancer,” says Pink Alliance President Doris Light. That’s why the Pink Alliance board members are eager to bring the luncheon back with a bang this year by having Lori Allen speak.
“I’m so excited and blessed to be able to step out of Zoom and back into an in-person event like this luncheon,” Allen says. “Speaking to a room full of women brings me so much joy, even though it's a difficult topic to talk about. I'm looking forward to connecting with women again in an intimate setting, and I'm excited to share my story and hear from other cancer patients, survivors, and supporters. Allen owns a bridal boutique, Bridals by Lori, in Georgia, where she helps brides find the perfect wedding dress and stars on TLC’s popular reality show “Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta.” She shared her experience with breast cancer on TLC’s special, “Say Yes to the Cure: Lori’s Fight,” in 2012 and received such an
outpouring of support that TLC aired an update on her battle in October of 2013.
“It was a really, really hard time, but I'm so happy that I was able to use my platform at TLC to share my story and spread awareness,” says Allen. “So many women shared that they discovered breast cancer after my story gave them that little push to get a mammogram. Hearing stories like that sent chills up my spine and makes me so thankful that I was able to spread awareness and, in some cases, save lives.” Pink Alliance expects the community will turn out in full force to the luncheon given all the support they received during the pandemic, plus the limited seating due to lingering Covid restrictions. The luncheon is currently accepting sponsorships. “Most definitely it will be a sellout,” Gerling says. Proceeds from the luncheon go directly to supporting Pink Alliance’s programs. Since its inception, the community luncheon has raised more than $986,000 to support local breast health initiatives, further cancer awareness, and serve breast cancer patients in the Brazos Valley through the nonprofit. Their board members are all breast cancer survivors and all volunteers, so they are able to give away 98% of the money they fundraise.
“One in eight women, at some point in time during their lifetime, will be diagnosed with breast cancer. I think that's what we really want to drive home: breast cancer does not discriminate by age or color,” Gerling says.
Pink Alliance combats breast cancer in four main ways: directly paying for low-income patients’ cancer treatments, educating the public on preventative care, raising awareness, and providing support to survivors — in support groups and one-on-one. All the funds stay in the Brazos Valley, going directly to
Daniela Weaver Photography
hospitals and doctors providing care locally. In 2016, Pink Alliance launched its Pink Alliance Grant Program to provide funding for breast health and cancer initiatives like mammograms, ultrasounds, and biopsies.
As the next Surviving & Thriving luncheon approaches, the Pink Alliance committee looks forward to continuing to provide resources and support to local breast cancer patients and again recognize breast cancer survivors. “What keeps me awake at night is thinking about the people out there that might need help and don't know how to get it. I just love being able to help ladies. It's what keeps me wanting to raise that next dollar; it keeps me going,” Light says.
“It is so, so important to talk about breast cancer,” Allen says. “So many women put self-care on the back burner that they'll just push off that life-saving mammogram. What we all know now is that when we are dealing with breast cancer, timing is really of the essence. So the more we talk about it, the more we spread awareness, and the more lives can be saved.”
Thursday, September 30, 11:30 a.m.
College Station Hilton and Conference Center, 801 University Drive E, College Station
survivingandthriving.org
