STOW — Town Administrator Denise Dembkoski would like to announce the Town of Stow will recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month with several initiatives aimed at raising awareness, as well as hosting a speaker who will discuss her battle with the disease.
One initiative will enable residents to offer words of support or honor someone they know with breast cancer by writing messages on pink ribbons that will hang on Awareness and Support trees in front of the Town Building at 380 Great Road.
Those messages will remain throughout the month, and will be illuminated in pink.
“I hope all those who have been touched by this horrible disease will contribute a message for our Awareness and Support trees,” said Town Administrator Dembkoski. “Those who face this disease, and their families, deserve all the support we can offer, and we hope this display sends the message that the Town of Stow is behind them.”
Also throughout the month, the Town will give out ribbons and bracelets to employees to wear if they choose. The town has also designed Thursday, Oct. 14 as “wear pink” day to help raise awareness.
Also on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m., the Randall Library, 19 Crescent St., will host a Zoom speech by Sarah Thomas, an ultra-marathon swimmer who holds the world record for longest continuous unassisted swim in current-neutral conditions.
Thomas set that world record in 2017 by swimming more than 104 miles without a wetsuit in Lake Champlain. Shortly afterward, Thomas was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. After treatment that included chemotherapy, surgery and radiation treatment, Thomas continued pursuing her dreams, and just a year after completing her cancer therapies became the first person to complete a four-way crossing of the English Channel, finishing in 54 hours and 10 minutes.
Thomas will speak about her battle with cancer and her determination to continue reaching her goals despite that battle.
For more information on Thomas, click here. To register for the Zoom conversation on Oct. 14, click here.
At the Stow Council on Aging, staff have scheduled events for each Wellness Wednesday during October, and staff members will be wearing pink to raise awareness:
- Oct. 6 – Pink ribbons will be available for seniors to pickup
- Oct. 13 – Bras will be collected for a Bra Board, with all collected bras being donated afterward to a clothing drive
- Oct. 20 – An Awareness Board will collect messages of remembrance, hope or support for a loved one. Messages can be added in person, or emailed to staff. Those wishing to email messages should contact: coordinator@stow-ma.gov.
- Oct. 27 – Staff members and other participants will all wear pink and go on a Pink Walk, weather permitting, from the COA, East on Route 117 to the Stow Police Department, and then back to the Town Building and then the COA. The route is about 2 miles in all, and the COA will have a van on call for anyone who needs a ride back. Those interested in registering for the walk can call the COA at 978-897-1880.
Also throughout the month of October, the Stow Police Department and Stow Police Association will be selling pink police patches for $10, with proceeds from patch purchases going to the Comprehensive Breast Health Program at Emerson Hospital and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer program.
For more information on how to buy a pink patch from Stow Police, click here.
###