In the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the "Belles for Boobies" 5-K walk and run Sunday will raise awareness and money to support women's health, senior Holly Dorson-King said.
Dorson-King said over 100 participants already registered for the race, and she expects as many as 20 race-day entries.
"My focus or goal is to raise awareness and inspire the campus to get involved in a cause that directly benefits women's health through energetic enthusiasm and passion," Dorson-King said.
The Healthy Mind, Healthy Body Club will host the race. Dorson-King, the club's treasurer, said the race fits perfectly with the club's mission to educate students on how to create a healthy environment.
"In learning about Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, I was enticed to seek collaboration in order to host a breast cancer race in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month," Dorson-King said.
She said she was inspired to organize the race after her summer externship experience.
"I spent this past summer learning as a nursing extern at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan and working with oncology patients," Dorson-King said. "It was this experience that furthered my enthusiasm to not only help raise awareness of breast cancer, but to inspire in [Saint Mary's] women a passion to fight for a phenomenal cause that touches so many lives not only in this country, but in the [Saint Mary's] community."
The "Save the Tatas" campaign also inspired Dorson-King to come up with the name "Belles for Boobies."
"I love the ‘Save the Tatas' campaign, but that's already been used and I wanted to connect [the name] to Saint Mary's, so I used Belles and boobies instead of tatas," Dorson-King said. "But I didn't want to cross any lines, so I went right to [Vice-President of Student Affairs] Karen Johnson and asked her to approve the name."
The race has also inspired Saint Mary's graduates to get involved.
"There have been some alumnae that contacted me about coming and participating," she said. "There even might be a SMC alumna and breast cancer survivor that will speak at the start of the race."
The track for the Belles for Boobies 5-K will follow a double loop around Saint Mary's campus.
The registration fee for the race is $5. Funds raised by the event will support the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Dorson-King said.
