October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and several industry players have backed the cause with fundraising and public-awareness efforts.
For the seventh consecutive year, Lifetime Television will lead the industry in promoting breast-cancer awareness.
The network last week said it partnered with Hard Rock Café to raise money for the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations and the National Breast Cancer Coalition.
Hard Rock Café created a limited-edition pin that combines the pink breast-cancer-awareness ribbon with a pink guitar, representing Lifetime's upcomingWomen Rock!concert, also held to support the cause.
The pins will sell for $10 each at Hard Rock Cafés via its Web site (www.hardrock.com); the organizations will get $4 from each sale.
"This gives Lifetime an opportunity to take our message off-air to a place where people wouldn't normally think of breast-cancer awareness," Lifetime brand executive vice president Rick Haskins said.
Hard Rock's Web site will also auction off five Lifetime-branded pink guitars signed by performers fromWomen Rock!, with all proceeds going to NABCO and NBCC.
Working with Lifetime, AT & T Broadband systems will host public viewing parties on the night of the Oct. 22Women Rock!event at Hard Rock locations in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. Lifetime will also hold a silent benefit auction for one guitar at each of those locations.
This year, Lifetime's goal is to gather 1 million pledges from women. They will be sent to Washington, D.C., to convince government officials of the importance of breast-cancer legislation.
Other Lifetime affiliates will get involved on the local level. In Philadelphia, Comcast Corp. will work with two local hospitals to offer free mammograms.
This Tuesday (Oct. 10), Comcast will sponsor a lunch-time march on Philadelphia City Hall to help promote awareness for the cause. Regional network CN8: The Comcast Network helped promote the march.
Volunteers who agree to march from either Hahnemann University Hospital or Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to City Hall will be eligible for two tickets to a free screening of a special two-part episode of Lifetime'sStrong Medicinethe next week. The event will also include a live panel discussion hosted by CN8 medical reporter Donna Willis.
QVC will donate proceeds from its half-price Fashion Footwear Association of New York shoe sale to aid breast-cancer causes. And Discovery.com has added a special link to breast-cancer awareness topics, with information on self-examinations and survivors' stories.
