Breast cancer is a disease that affects the health of millions of people every year, and October has been named "Breast Cancer Awareness Month" which helps to raise awareness about the illness and the importance of finding a cure. In honor of this, several companies are honoring the occasion and the honorable cause.
Cabeau
Cabeau is a leader in travel products, aiming to deliver a comfortable experience while en route. With products available in over 110 countries worldwide, the brand will be presenting 5% of its retail sales to Breast Cancer Research Foundation for every pink Evolution Pillow sold.
Although the award-winning pillow ranges in colors from black, red, grey, orange, blue, camouflage and tropic, the pink one is the focus when it comes to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“We love to give back to the community on a local and global scale, and for that reason, we started an initiative called Cabeau Cares back in 2013,” said David Sternlight, Founder, and CEO of Cabeau. “We partnered with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to raise awareness and funds for this very important cause. From this date forward, we committed to donate a percentage of sales from our Pink Evolution Pillow sales to this foundation.”
The Cabeau Cares initiative results in the company collaborating with several philanthropic organizations to support their causes.
For example, in January of 2015 Cabeau worked with Operation Gratitude to provide military families with care packages and functional rope bracelets. Just a month later, the brand’s employees visited Children Hospital LA and gifted small kids at the infection disease unit with blankets and BlanKid Buddy for a more comfortable stay at the hospital.
They have also partnered with the LA Regional Food Bank and helped to prepare food supplies and packages for the elderly and homeless. Most recently, Cabeau once again joined forces with Operation Gratitude on September 28 to make care packages for First Responders and the Military. These initiatives create a memorable relationship between the community and the brand and create a sense of involvement and accomplishment among employees.
KRAVE
KRAVE, which creates gourmet, culinary-inspired meat snacks, has partnered with Susan G. Komen and have agreed to donate a portion of sales from their new "Pink Peppercorn Beef Jerky." The company initially got into charitable causes in 2016 via their partnership with the Michael Phelps Foundation which raised funds for the Boys and Girls Club of Harford County, which subsequently went towards teaching both children and adults water-safety techniques and healthy-living suggestions. This successful partnership paved the way for more charitable collaborations, such as this one with Susan G. Komen.
“We are incredibly inspired by Susan G. Komen’s mission to end breast cancer forever through their research and community programs,” said Jordan Parker, PR & Partnerships Manager.
“We were having conversations with the SGK team for years about how we could get involved, and the launch of our new Pink Peppercorn Beef Jerky provided the perfect opportunity for us to encourage our fans to #KRAVEbetter in support of a worthy cause. We have received a lot of love for our new Pink Peppercorn Beef Jerky. People respond very well to the peppery bite that balances and elevates the classic meaty flavor.”
Hungry Howie's Pizza
Hungry Howie's Pizza just launched their ninth annual campaign titled "Love, Hope & Pizza" which is held in collaboration with National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). As the creators of flavored crust pizza, Howie's has raised more than two million dollars to further research into curing breast cancer.
The company is also selling bracelets to help make money for the cause.
“All businesses are approached for donations for charities, and I truly believe that all businesses have some social responsibility to give back to the community and the world,” said Rob Elliott, Hungry Howie’s EVP of Marketing. “We spent many years trying to be all things to all people when it came to charitable donations, and it stretched us thin. We decided to pick a charity that everyone in the organization would be engaged with and committed to.”
Noting that a startling one out of eight women in the United States with develops breast cancer, the organization started the “Love, Hope & Pizza” campaign in 2009. Hence, every October Hungry Howie’s signature yellow pizza boxes are rendered pink, and the franchise makes donations to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
“We’ve added additional contribution opportunities over the years by selling specialty merchandise like t-shirts, magnets, and bracelets,” said Rob Elliott. “This year, we’re selling cord-style bracelets for $2 each, and all the proceeds go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Additionally, customers may purchase ‘Slices of Hope’ for $1 and are invited to write the names on cutouts, which are affixed in our stores. Even if you order online, you can add a donation to your order.”
Paper Mart
Another company that is giving money to research is Paper Mart, the nation’s largest packaging supplier, by selling select pink products at 10% off. They have donated pink bags to Gold Canyon Candles, who partners with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) with a special fundraising candle.
Moreover, they donated pink ribbon for a breast cancer ride in Wisconsin to further awareness.
“As a female-led company, Paper Mart likes to support woman’s causes,” said Buffy Simoni, President of Paper Mart, who noted that the brand continually sells a variety of pink products in the party supply and décor areas.
Gold Canyon Candles is a Paper Mart customer, and they initially reached out to Paper Mart about collaborating in support of raising awareness about breast cancer.
“We are often approached by non-profits to help with their fundraising efforts, and although this group was out of state, we jumped at the chance to support it,” said Buffy Simoni. “Ribbons are a big part of Paper Mart’s business, and they can be used for gift giving, fashion, and awareness causes.
So, supporting a breast cancer ride through a ribbon donation made a lot of sense. Any way that you decide to wear a pink ribbon during October shows your support, and we suggest grabbing a roll at Paper Mart and getting creative!”
Paper Mart also celebrates Breast Cancer Awareness Day each year by having all employees wear pink.
DailyKARMA
DailyKARMA is the company behind "Cause Funds," a platform for people to group their charities of choice into one profile and subsequently donate and/or fundraise in a single transaction. Topics such as animals, women's issues, education, veteran's affairs and more have all been used via the customizable online platform.
“Because these causes affect so many people, it is extremely important to raise awareness during their dedicated months,” said Patricia Dao, CEO of dailyKARMA.
“Our platform is especially suited to help raise money for multiple charities within one campaign, which makes it so unique.”
The founders of dailyKARMA always wanted to create a company that could encourage and motivate people to make giving part of everyday life versus just an occasional occurrence. Using cutting-edge technology, their platform helps to streamline giving, making it easier for people that WANT to do good to actually take action and impact an organization(s) in just a few minutes.
“Although there are several well-known charities across the country, there are also smaller organizations that don’t have the branding benefits of the larger organizations and need to work much harder for donations,” said Patricia Dao.
“Not only are they trying to help support causes like combating epidemics, servicing the needy or raising awareness about diseases but they must also spend a lot of time on fundraising efforts which ultimately takes away time from their core mission. Platforms like ours are geared towards making giving easier and engaging for potential donors, so they are more likely to contribute to charities. Overall, we are helping to create another donation stream for the organizations that need it most.”
UFC GYM
Last but not least, the UFC GYM fitness franchise that specializes in mixed martial arts (MMA) is partnering with the Young Survival Coalition (YSC) to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Noting that breast cancer is the most common cancer to afflict women between 15 and 39, the gym is offering free workout classes on October 20-22 to members and non-members who text “UFCGYM” to 50555 and thereby donate at least ten dollars to YSC.
They are also selling retail merchandise in the club stores with a portion of proceeds going directly to YSC.
Realizing how many people worldwide are affected by breast cancer, UFC GYM realized that promoting a healthy lifestyle to help combat the affects was a prime way to raise awareness about the disease overall. For several years, the gym has been supporting this cause as well as a variety of other philanthropic organizations including Childhood obesity, the Veteran’s Association, and the American Heart Association.
“With more than thirty-two young women diagnosed with breast cancer daily, it is a worldwide epidemic growing annually,” said Adam Sedlack, President of UFC Gym. “We want to encourage healthy living and healing while driving awareness.
UFC Gym classes are tailored to give members a physical workout that also has positive emotional benefits. Working out in a group setting can be inspirational while creating a sense of community and accountability. Our coaches are trained to ensure the best possible workout experience for every class attendee, and we offer a wide variety of classes appealing to all levels and interests. Our most popular group classes are boxing and D.U.T.”
