On Sunday October 1, over forty members of McGill’s Think Pink club gathered at the 21st annual CIBC Run for the Cure at Parc Maisonneuve to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The club’s very own VP External Camilla Hyldelund was the first woman to finish the 5k run, marking the fifth year of McGill’s involvement in the run that raises funds for breast cancer research.
The annual October run is the largest single-day volunteer event in Canada, with this year’s run spanning over 56 locations and rallying 85,000 participants across Canada. Montreal has hosted the run since 1996 and celebrated the event this year with 35,00 runners and walkers, including families and breast cancer survivors who gathered at the park in a sea of pink to show their solidarity.
According to the official CIBC Run for the Cure page, an estimated $17 million was raised in total to fund breast cancer research. All donations from the Montreal run will go to the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation to be invested in innovative research projects, as well as education campaigns and support programs for people living with breast cancer.
McGill’s own Students for Think Pink team raised over $2,000 to benefit cancer research. Sporting the pink CIBC t-shirts, members of the club embodied McGill’s commitment to get involved beyond the Roddick Gates by contributing to the community and bringing together individuals whose lives have been impacted by breast cancer.
The university’s involvement in the breast cancer cause has drastically grown since the founding of the Think Pink club five years ago. The club, currently led by Bhavyaa Chandarana and Sam Wunderlich, aims to promote greater awareness of breast cancer in the McGill community and to provide opportunities for students to get involved in different ways to fight breast cancer.
One of the club’s VP Communications, Louise Efthimiou, maintained that this was her first time participating: “It was so nice to see so many people come together. I’m especially proud of the club’s newest members who also woke up early to support the cause.” Indeed, the club successfully gathered over twenty new members after its Fall 2017 recruiting call.
“With a growing number of on-campus events and an increasing social media presence, McGill Students for Think Pink continues to successfully contribute to Montreal’s fight against breast cancer,” Efthimiou added.
In addition to the annual Run for the Cure, Think Pink also establishes its presence on campus through weekly samosa sales and social events.
You can get involved through their Facebook page or by contacting them on myInvolvement.
