For the second year, the Pink Patch Project is back at Adelphi University, raising awareness and funds for those affected by breast cancer.
The national campaign, coordinated by first responders for October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, was brought to Adelphi in 2020 by Sergeant Gerry Lennon of Adelphi’s Department of Public Safety and Transportation.
The story behind the fundraiser was featured on News12.
Sergeant Gerry Lennon of Adelphi’s Department of Public Safety and Transportation holding a Pink Patch.
Lennon was inspired to bring the Pink Patch Project to Adelphi in honor of his mother, Anne Lennon, a survivor of breast cancer, and his sister, Kathy Fallon, who passed away from the disease in 2015.
“For some reason, my sister was always afraid of mammograms, so she would always put them off,” said Lennon. “At the end, she had stated she wished she had gone for the mammogram. So I think awareness is huge.”
In collaboration with and to benefit the Adelphi NY State Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program, which provided counseling services to Lennon’s sister before she died, the pink patches are sold throughout the month of October.
“Awareness leads to action and we know early detection saves lives,” said Reyna Machado, executive director of Adelphi’s program, on the importance of the fundraising effort. “We are very fortunate to have Gerry as an ambassador for the University and the Adelphi breast cancer program.”
In 2020, Adelphi’s Pink Patch Project raised $2,000. This year, Lennon hopes to surpass that.
“We change the patch every year so people can collect the whole set,” Lennon said of the patches. “This year, we reversed the colors. Patches are moving well this year and again are proving to be popular.”
In addition to the Pink Patch fundraiser, the Adelphi breast cancer program has organized a drive-in movie screening of Pixar’s Coco for Friday, October 22, at 6:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $40 per car, $30 for Adelphi employees and $10 for Adelphi students, with proceeds going to support the program.
To get an Adelphi Public Safety Pink Patch and support this cause, you can make a donation by visiting the University’s Public Safety’s Community Affairs Office in Garden City in the Ruth S. Harley University Center, Room 104, or via the Public Safety Patch Campaign portal.
If you make an online donation via the portal (which can be paid via credit card), Adelphi Public Safety will mail the patch.