Pink Dollars

I hope it is an underestimation to assume most of you are aware of the pink tint of much of our towns this month. In case you’re among the few unaware of the flattering blush tone, it’s all part of “Turn the Town Pink” which is a fund (and awareness) raising effort by UNC Lineberger and its Comprehensive Cancer Support Program (CCSP).

This column has seen a few rants about seemingly uncaring businesses but today, I write the opposite. The business and community partners joining with UNC are proving that customer service comes in more than obvious ways. And sometimes it wears pink.

The quantity and variety of businesses finding creative ways to donate and to help us donate is laudable but, to me, not surprising. I’ve written before that I’ve lived in many places and never before have I lived in a community where good works and philanthropy is as celebrated as it is here.

Here’s just a sample of participating local businesses:

Aveda Institute
Carolina Inn
Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership
Chapel Hill Sportswear
Elaine’s on Franklin
Finn Facial Plastics
Galloway Ridge
O2 Fitness
Performance AutoMall
Pure Barre
Shula’s 347 Grill
The Siena Hotel
A Southern Season
Southern Village Pediatric Dentistry
Sugarland
Vietri

One business much beloved by me is donating 5% of the proceeds of all of next week’s (Oct. 17-21) Our Local Deals (this link will take you to the current offer, just look for the subscribe button to receive all of next week’s offers). Make sure you look at each one with an eye toward holiday gift giving because more than one person will be the recipient.

For a full list of how these and other businesses are participating, click here.

What does all this buy? Here’s a sample:

Information: the vetted, clear, dependable kind. A cancer diagnosis sends most people and their loved ones looking for answers. The CCSP clears the underbrush of misinformation for patients.
With too many families depleting savings to pay for care, this program provides wigs, hats and scarves to those for whom it’s a luxury.
Gas and parking. Most of you reading this are fortunate to live close by but UNC Lineberger treats people from many miles away. Raising just $25 can pay a patient’s gas bill.
Food. Yes, the kind no one wants but too many people need: the kind that is in liquid form only and sometimes is delivered not by glass, but by tube.

If you know someone who’s been helped by these programs, and you feel comfortable doing so, please leave his or her (or your) story below. Sometimes knowing real people benefit brings out the blush in all of us. If you’d prefer I tell the story, write to me at donnabeth@chapelboro.com

Wishing a very pink month to all of us.

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