Alyssa M. - Raising Awareness and Funding for Breast Cancer

My senior project was to plan a fundraiser for www.breastcancer.org, an important nonprofit breast cancer educational resource. My fundraiser was called 'Bowling for Boobs' and was a mother-daughter bowling event held at the Presidio Bowl on February 22, 2009. I wanted to have a fun event to raise money, but I also wanted to educate women about the risks of breast cancer. Along with the goodie bags that were given out to each attendee, I included information about breast cancer and how important it is to do routine breast cancer checks.


I chose this project because my mother is a breast cancer survivor, and since she was diagnosed I've been increasingly interested in the disease. The breast cancer rate in the Bay Area is one of the highest in the country and I wanted to increase awareness of this fact.

The most exciting aspect of my senior project was the event itself. In planning this event, I had to write letters to possible donors and solicit food donations from local bakeries. I learned how to create and abide by a budget (which meant forgoing some aspects of the event that I had originally wanted to include due to price). The biggest thing I learned from this experience was how to effectively manage my time. I needed to use all of my senior project periods in an effective manner in order for the event to run smoothly.

'Bowling for Boobs' was a great success! Nearly seventy mothers and daughters attended and we raised almost $5,000. The most meaningful aspect of this process was working with my mother to plan the event. Many people don't realize how prevalent breast cancer is in our society and I was glad to work with my mother to help them learn more about the disease that has had such a large impact on my life.

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