Pink ladies pop corks for breast cancer
Amid a flurry of pink lipstick and gumboots, Halcombe residents will be popping champagne corks this weekend to raisemoney for breast cancer.
Known in the village as the Pink Ladies, trio Bex Lintott, Holly Howland and Michelle Simpson are hosting Bubbles and Boobs, a ‘light-hearted evening for a serious cause’ for 150 people at the Halcombe Memorial Hall on Saturday.
The sold-out event, featuring guest speakers, stalls and bubbles, will raise funds for Breast Cancer Foundation NZ in an effort to help the charity reach its $2 million fundraising goal.
Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer found in New Zealand women, with about 120 women diagnosed each year in the Midcentral rohe.
Lintott said she was inspired to help the foundation after watching her grandmother, close friends and co-workers fight breast cancer.
‘‘Watching them navigate through this incredibly tough journey, I can see what amazing warriors these women are.
‘‘The aim is to have a bit of fun while we raise awareness and remove the stigma for a serious cause.’’
The trio first got together in 2020 and held a virtual Pink Ribbon Breakfast, during Covid19 restrictions, raisingmore than $1000.
This year they set a $2000 goal to double their fundraising efforts.
Lintott said with event tickets already selling out and fundraising activities on the night, they were tracking towards about $6000.
‘‘It’s amazing to see so many people in our little townwho want to get behind this in such a big way. Being rurally-based, where it can be easy to become isolated, events like Bubbles and Boobs give us the opportunity to get together, have some fun with our neighbours and at the same time have important conversations about breast cancer.’’
Howland had just moved to Halcombe when she saw Lintott organising the first event in 2020.
She said she joined in as away of getting to know her community while getting behind a good cause. ‘‘I had done amental health workshop with Sir John Kirwan, and he talked a lot about the risk of the rural community being isolated in amental health aspect. His advice was to do something fun, do something different and celebrate who you are. I saw the words ‘pink, gumboots and lippy’ and thought it sounded like the perfect thing to get behind.’’
The Pink Ribbon Breakfast is the foundation’s biggest fundraising event.
The money generated will fund research, educational and awareness programmes, as well as patient support services.
The foundation received no Government funding and public support was vital to running the charity. Thosewho missed out on tickets can visit the Halcombe trio’s fundraising page to make a donation.