Shop, Show Pink in Putnam to Benefit Breast Cancer Awareness

A wave of pink is flooding stores everywhere, as retailers participate in Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Folks all over Putnam are showing their support in different ways between now and the end of the month:

• Many salons, including On Line Hair Designs on Route 22, are selling pink hair extensions.
• The Brewster Flower Garden on Main Street is taking 10 percent off pink flowers.
• The Campanella Fence Co. on Route 6 in Mahopac added pink touches to one of its trucks.

For the savvy shopper, it's an opportunity to donate to a good cause while snagging unique, pink-hued items.

But before you plunk down your green for some pink, the nonprofits behind Breast Cancer Awareness Month want you to check the label.

Jenna Glazer, director of development for Young Survival Coalition (YSC), a global organization dedicated to helping young women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, said that buyers should be on the lookout for a label or tag that tells where the money from the purchase goes.

"If you walk into Bed Bath & Beyond and see something with a pink ribbon and no information about where the money is going, chances are it doesn't benefit the cause," she said.

Glazer said the best way for consumers to ensure that pink products are legit is to visit the non-profit's website for a list of its partners. YSC, which is based in New York City, lists Oakley, Nutra Nail, Liv/giant bikes, Ford and Urban Outfitters as some of its partners.

The amount of money donated to the nonprofit is also key, Glazer said. With YSC's partnership with Oakley, for instance, $20 from each pair of sunglasses goes right to the nonprofit, which offers resources, connections and outreach to young women with breast cancer. 

And for a group like YSC, which is on the smaller end of the spectrum of breast cancer awareness groups such as Susan G. Komen For the Cure, the check it receives is just part of the benefit. Each time YSC partners with a company, Glazer said, "It raises the profile of nonprofit and gets the word out to the people who need us."

Getting the word out about breast cancer awareness is exacty what the staff at On Line Hair is hoping to do, by offering customers a pink extension for $10 (or three for $20). A portion of the proceeds goes to supporting the cause.

This is the second year the salon is selling the items, which stylists pop into a head of hair in less than a minute.

Staff members say they've gone through more than two dozen so far. Many of the customers who request them are walk-ins, and their ages range.

Laurie Netsch, a North Salem resident and stylist at the Southeast business, has been in remission for five years. The two pink extensions she wears pop in her dark hair, and she receives many inquiries from folks who ask, "Are those for breast cancer?"

"The awareness is great, because every woman is in jeopardy. Nobody is spared," she said. "Mine was found in a routine mammogram."

Netsch, a big advocate of regular checkups, displays a "survivor" sign at her hair station. She talks about her experience, and breast cancer, openly. Those topics, she said, weren't discussed regularly in her childhood and teen years.

"We weren't aware of it," she said, adding that around the time of her diagnosis, she discovered an aunt of hers had died from the disease. "It's in the public eye now. They're learning that prevention is the best medicine."

More about Pink Items

Here are a few pink products available online that breast cancer nonprofits are putting their names behind:

• The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) has partnered with Barnes & Noble, which is offering a pink leather Nook cover with a stitched ribbon for about $35, with $5 going to the foundation.
• Susan G. Komen for the Cure sells its own official merchandise on its website. It has pink leather business card holders for $15 each, as well as candles, coasters, neckties and car accessories.
• Hard Rock will celebrate its thirteenth season of Pinktober with a variety of merchandise, including a pink honeycomb robe for $80. 75 percent of the profits from each item sold goes to the Caron Keating Foundation.

Some retailers don't enter contracts with nonprofits but still donate a portion of their proceeds. Team Cheer, a website that offers gear for cheerleaders, is donating 5 percent of its pink profits to BCRF. From socks to bows to briefs, the company's Cheer for a Cure collection includes products from $5 to about $25. You won't see it advertised on the BCRF website, but according to foundation staff, Team Cheer has made donations for the past two years.

If you think a pink product is suspicious or you are wondering about the relationship between the company and the cause, give the non-profit a call. Representatives are usually happy to verify whether a company is really giving.

"I've actually gotten Google alerts and seen people say they are partnering with us and they aren't," Glazer said, adding that she follows up on those alerts and asks for a check from the retailer that made the claim. Sometimes, she said, retailers were unaware that they needed a contract with YSC and will send along the check happily.

But in some cases, she said, "I never hear back from them."

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