Pink Picture of the Week: Tour de Pink

We can’t possibly pick ONE picture to describe Tour de Pink, but we do love this beautiful picture taken by Tim Hansford.  To see the rest of our pictures, visit our Photo Gallery here.

Join us for the 5th Annual Tour de Pink bike ride on September 13, 2009. To register and for more information, visit www.tourdepink.org.

Last year, we had over 2100 riders and raised over $500,000. We had fabulous weather, enjoyed a great and safe bicycle ride, raised lots of funds, and enjoyed a day of music out at Prairie View A&M University. This year will be even better and bigger!

Pink Partners

Want to be a part of Pink Ribbons Project but you just aren’t sure how? Join Pink Partners!

Pink Partners are ambassadors and stewards of Pink Ribbons Project, will be our new and longtime dedicated volunteers, and who, through their support, help us grow and flourish. Pink Partners are committed to promoting and fostering the growth and community of the Pink Ribbons Project as it continues along a strong and abundant stage of development.

In other words, we love our Pink Partners!

On Tuesday, we had a gift-bag stuffing party at the home of one of our new co-chairs. We were overwhelmed with the amount of donated toiletries we received. Our Pink Partners helped us to stuff all the goodies into gift bags that will be handed out to the women receiving screening on the UTMB Mobile Van that we help staff. (See Pink Pic of the Week below!) We wish we could show you some pictures of our bag stuffing party, but there are none because we were having so much FUN!!

Director of Principal Gifts Ann Anderson spoke to us about how much of an impact the Mobile Van makes on our Greater Houston Community, and then drove away with well over 100 goody bags to give out!

Can you imagine going to the doctor for a screening and leaving with a gift bag? We are pretty confident we will be making someone’s day!

If you are interested in becoming a Pink Partner (so you can come to more fun parties like this one!!), please call 713. 524.PINK (7465). Membership for 1 year is $50, and Lifetime membership is $1,000.

Social Media

Recently, we have been hitting our Pink Ribbons Project Board of Directors over the head with social media!

A month ago, we hosted a Social Media Training at Rice University for our Board, our Advisory Board, and our “Pink Partners.” We all became facebook friends, followed each other on twitter, and had a grand time!

This week, we had our Annual Board Retreat and focused on our evolving Marketing Plan. We took a few minutes to encourage them to join twitter, facebook, and read our blog!

Do you enjoy social media? What do you consider to be the easiest to use? What is the most practical?

Pink Picture of the Week: UTMB Mobile Van

In 2008, Pink Ribbons Project began a very special partnership with the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). As part of the Pink Power program, Pink Ribbons Project granted$50,000 to UTMB in Galveston to staff the Mobile Mammography Unit for 3 months. The mobile unit had to be garaged when it arrived shortly after the devastation of Hurricane Ike.

In honor of our brand new “Pink Picture of the Week“, here are Pink Ribbons Project staff and board members, as well as members of the UTMB staff at the Mobile Van.

In March, April and May of 2009, the Mobile Van was able to screen 202 women. The UTMB Breast Cancer Screening Services are available at Hospitals, Clinics and through the Mobile Van. There are 12 Regional Maternal and Child Health clinics located in 10 Texas counties. For more on UTMB, visit their website here.

100 push ups anyone?

All the studies agree! Women MUST exercise in order to increase the chance of surviving breast cancer if diagnosed. American Cancer Society also recommends exercise as a tool to lower the risk of breast cancer. To read a complete article about a recent study about fitness, breast cancer rates and survivorship, click here.

Speaking of exercise…Pink Ribbons Project staffer Kate is taking on a new challenge- the 100 push up challenge! Who wants to join her?

Kate

The purpose of the program is to be able to do 100 push ups in a row at the end of a 6 week training progam.  If you want to join in on the challenge, email kate@pinkribbons.org or just comment below.  Learn all about the prorgam and the initial test here: http://hundredpushups.com/.

Ready, set, PUSH UP!

A healthy recipe for the summer!

Just in time for summer! We love this recipe because it is very high in Vitamin C and Potassium.

Honeydew Kiwi Smoothie

• 2 cups cubed honeydew melon, frozen or well chilled
• 1 ripe kiwi
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar (or honey)
• 2 mint sprigs, optional, for garnish

In blender, whirl melon, kiwi, lime juice and nectar until smoothly blended. If using frozen melon, divide smoothie between 2 tall, narrow glasses. If using chilled melon, pour smoothie into glasses filled with ice cubes. Garnish each glass with mint sprig, if desired, and serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 120 calories, 0 g. total fat (0g. saturated fat), 32 g. carbohydrate,
2 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 35 mg. sodium.

Kombucha

Have you tried this drink below?

We are a little slow to jump on the Kombucha bandwagon, but now we are on with full force! This stuff is incredible for you, and does amazing things like help with:

digestion

metabolism

immune system

appetite control

weight control

liver function

body alkalinity

anti-aging

cell integrity

healthy skin and hair

For more about Kombucha, visit the website: http://www.gtskombucha.com/.

What we love MOST about Kombucha is that the creator, GT Dave, was inspired to create this product based on his mother’s battle with breast cancer. He found that this tea greatly helped his mother, and went on to make sure that it was available to everyone!

So, go out today and buy one. Better yet- support another Houston non-profit and buy it from Houston’s Buyers Club: http://www.houstonbuyersclub.com/. Let us know what you think!

National Women’s Health Week

Happy National Women’s Health Week!

From Women’s Health.gov, it is important to:

• Getting at least 2 ½ hours of moderate physical activity, 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity, or a combination of both each week
• Eating a nutritious diet.
• Visiting a health care professional for regular checkups and preventive screenings.
• Avoiding risky behaviors, like smoking and not wearing a seatbelt.
• Paying attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress.

The latest at Pink Headquarters

Things are always busy here at Pink Ribbons Project Headquarters! To keep you updated, here is the run down:

-A big thank you to Schipul, who just updated our beloved website, www.pinkribbons.org. We love the new look!

-The Second Annual Tickle Me Pink was a HUGE success. This is all due to the genius of Zoe Patterson, our favorite high school fashionista, who single handedly produced a fabulous fashion show. We packed the River Oaks Theatre with over 350 high school students, Pink supporters, and fashion gurus.

-Journey to Song continues to be a success. We have gathered for three poetry sessions, and all have led to a great discussion and wonderful poetry. Even if you aren’t a poet, these workshops are for you! On Thursday, May 14 we will have poet Adriana Babiak-Vazquez to help guide us. For more information, http://www.pinkribbons.org/en/cev/63.

-Our 2009 Annual Fund as hit the mailboxes! For more information, visit http://www.pinkribbons.org/annualfund2009/.

-Pink Partners 2009 kicks off tomorrow with a luncheon at Ouisie’s featuring special guest speaker Katherine Center. Pink Partners help us raise awareness about breast cancer, enlist the attention and assistance of friends in the Greater Houston community, and participate in our events and projects throughout the year. A one-year membership is $50.

-If anyone was wondering, Susan beat Kate in a slim margin in the NCAA bracket tournament. Elena was the ultimate loser, and we are anxiously awaiting our home cooked lunch next week!

-Last but not least, we have a lot of birthdays lately in the Pink office. May 3rd we celebrated Faye’s birthday (we don’t know, and even if we did, we wouldn’t mention how old she turned.) And on May 7th our Associate Director, Loubel Cruz, is turning the somewhat anti-climactic big 3-1!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Donald Pliner

Pink Ribbons Project teamed up with designer Donald Pliner on April 4th at the Houston store, located at 4033 Westheimer in Highland Village. Shoppers enjoyed mimosas,  chatting with the designer himself, and most importantly! Shoes. (See gorgeous shoes below.)

10% of all sales benefited Pink Ribbons Project, and we are pleased to have raised over $800!