ITHACA, N.Y. — You might see some Ithaca police officers wearing pink badges this month in an effort to support breast cancer awareness locally.
According to the Ithaca Police Department, 24 officers will don the pink badges in October and raise money for the Ithaca Cancer Resource Center.
IPD posted the following statement on their Facebook page:
Acting Chief of Police Pete Tyler has approved IPD officers to wear pink badges during the month of October to raise awareness of breast cancer.
There are 24 IPD officers who have purchased a pink badge and donated $50 of their own money to support breast cancer research and treatment.
IPD Officer Mike Meskill, who organized the awareness campaign, stated “Wearing these pink badges is a great way for us to raise awareness and show our support to folks impacted by breast cancer in one way or another. The money raised will be donated to the Ithaca Cancer Resource Center so it has a local flavor. This is a great cause and a great show of support by IPD officers and I’m proud we’re doing this.”
According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 41,070 people will die from breast cancer this year and 255,180 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
The Ithaca Cancer Resource Center is hosting several fundraising events throughout the month of October, in addition to the IPD donations.
Some of the events include the following:
- CRC Walkathon & 5K happening at 10 a.m. Oct. 21 at Cass Park.
- Inaugural “Carve Out Cancer” event, a pumpkin carving contest happening from 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at Triphammer Marketplace Farmers Market
- Red’s Goes Pink in October! Red’s Place, located at 107 N. Aurora St., will donate 10 percent of one’s bill to the CRC throughout the month of October if a person is wearing the color pink.
For more information about how to help raise fund for the CRC or to learn more about their services, click here.