Vermillion raised $650 in breast cancer awareness Pink Walk

While looking at all of the pink and supporters for the Pink Walk, Mary Merrigan reminisced about her personal connection to breast cancer.

“I have a really close friend from high school who was battling breast cancer for several years and passed away a couple of years ago. Before that, I had been involved with a lot of breast cancer awareness activities, but especially after she passed away…” did Merrigan take full involvement in events such as the Pink Walk, she said after tearing up about the memory.

After a walk through Vermillion, which raised $650, shades of pink splashed with the usual red at Saturday’s football festivities for the game against North Dakota State University as Sanford Health in Vermillion teamed up with the University of South Dakota and Classic Hits 106.3 KVTH for the second annual Pink Walk.

“We wanted to do something during the month of October that brought awareness to the reality of breast cancer and the importance for women to remember to get their mammograms,” said Merrigan, event coordinator and director of Public Relations and Marketing at Sanford Health.

In addition to the Pink Walk, the Vermillion health organization had three other events throughout October. All together, the money raised from the combined events totaled $1,500 and will be donated to the Edith Sanford Breast Foundation.

Forty-nine participants walked from Sanford Health, through campus and up to the DakotaDome to tailgate and attend Saturday’s football game. Merrigan said USD donated tickets for each participant to attend the game.

Registration began at 11 a.m., and walkers were asked to donate $10. Incentive items such as a bag, water bottle and T-shirts were donated by the Edith Sanford Breast Foundation were given to people involved.

To direct the walkers throughout the course to the DakotaDome, 12 Girl Scouts were stationed at various places to keep the participants on route.

Because Sanford lends a meeting room for the Vermillion Area Girl Scouts to utilize for the organization’s meetings, leader Lindsey Lucas said the girls try to help out with eventss the health facility puts on.

Specifically with the Pink walk, Lucas said it was a good educational experience for the Girl Scouts.

“We talked about what breast cancer was and how it affects people’s lives, and they also got to help the community out, so it was a good event for them to be involved in,” Lucas said.

In general, all of the activities the Girl Scouts are involved in are geared toward teaching the girls “about being better,” Lucas said.

“We have them do things to help the community and learn leadership skills because they will be the leaders of tomorrow,” she said.

In conjunction with USD and KVTH, the event aimed to raise awareness while also having fun and cheering on the Coyotes in an important game, Merrigan said.

Michelle Hinseth, a Sanford employee, participated in the walk. Despite a few scares, Hinseth said her family has been lucky enough to not have been personally affected by breast cancer.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop her from taking part in awareness programs. When it was in Vermillion in 2009 through 2011, Hinseth took part in the Race for a Cure event and followed it to Sioux Falls in 2012.

Describing her and her family as big Coyote fans, Hinseth was happy to partake in the event and celebrate the USD football game while also highlighting the Pink Walk.

“It’s a great cause to raise awareness to breast cancer and research,” Hinseth said. “It’s a good way to highlight October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and support our community and USD.”

Beneath the awareness aspect of breast cancer and the honoring of people whose lives have been affected, Merrigan said it was a perfect way to mesh that cause with the Vermillion community.

“Statistics show that early detection of breast cancer is huge in survivorship and positive outcomes,” Merrigan said. “(The event is) recognizing that early detection and how important that is, but we’ve lost a lot of people to breast cancer and honoring them. The dollars that we raise today, which will all be donated to Edith Sanford breast cancer research, can help make an impact so that we can hopefully some day soon find a cure for breast cancer. It’s a great way to enjoy the day, see a little bit of campus, end up at the tailgate and then focus on cheering on the Coyotes.”

(Photo: A member of the Vermillion Girl Scouts points walkers in the right direction during the Pink Walk Saturday afternoon outside of Aalfs Auditorium Slagle Hall. The second annual Pink Walk drew around 30 participants. Emily Niebrugge / The Volante).