Breast Cancer Foundation NZ is asking the people of Southland to generously support local pink ribbon fundraisers happening next weekend.

Volunteer collectors will be stationed around the region for the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 October. Then on Sunday 31 October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month culminates with New Zealand’s first ever neighbourhood Pink Ribbon Walk. 

Extended Covid-19 restrictions around the country have forced the cancellation of two major fundraisers this year – the iconic Pink Ribbon Walks in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal in Auckland.

The charity expects to lose more than $500,000 in income as a result, and it’s now appealing to the people of Southland to help make its remaining events a success. 

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Ah-Leen Rayner, chief executive of Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, said: "As a charitable trust that receives no government funding, we rely entirely on the goodwill of New Zealanders to keep our life-saving work going.

"But the ongoing Covid restrictions are severely impacting our ability to fundraise. Every dollar we’ve lost to Covid is money we can’t spend on supporting patients in their time of need, cutting-edge research, and education programmes to stop deaths from breast cancer.

"We know this is devastating for our supporters, who volunteer or walk to honour the women they’ve lost, or to mark their own journey with breast cancer. However, we’re still committed to making the rest of our events a huge success and we hope the Southland community will get behind our efforts to fight against breast cancer."

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for New Zealand women under 65 and every year around 235 women are diagnosed with it in the Southern District Health Board area.

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The neighbourhood Pink Ribbon Walks encourage people to fundraise by getting dressed up in pink and walk in their own communities.

Participants will get the chance to warm up virtually with Celebrity Treasure Island star Joe Naufahu, and win prizes via social media throughout the day from event sponsors Estee Lauder Companies, The Hits, SBS Bank and Pink Lady Apples.

Sign up for a neighbourhood Pink Ribbon Walk at pinkribbonwalk.co.nz/virtual and follow @pinkribbonNZ on social media for all of the virtual action on the day.

Donations can be made to the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal through volunteer collectors who will be out in force shaking pink buckets across Southland on 29 and 30 October, or online at pinkribbonappeal.co.nz. 

Money raised from the Pink Ribbon Street Appeal and neighbourhood Pink Ribbon Walks will go towards Breast Cancer Foundation’s work to support patients, fund ground-breaking scientific projects and educate New Zealanders about the importance of early detection.