Area Businesses Support Breast Cancer Awareness

Think pink? It might be because it’s that time of the year. Pink chocolate. . Pink hair weaves. Pink sheets. Pink stilettos. And, of course, a boatload of pink ribbons.

Locally, Panera Bread (which has a location on Route 51 in Pleasant Hills Borough) will start selling Pink Ribbon Bagels on Oct. 4 in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Panera is parterning with the Young Women's Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, founded by  and the Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation, by donating 100 percent of its bagels proceeds through Oct. 31.

All 28 Panera locations in the Pittsburgh area will participate.

"It is more important than ever for women of all ages to be aware of breast cancer and how they can join in the fight to end the disease," said Lisa Edmonds, Young Women’s Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation co-founder. "We are so happy to have renewed our partnership with Panera Bread this year to help bring about a cancer-free world."

Also, throughout the month of October, the YWBCAF will be an Operation Dough-Nation partner in the Pittsburgh market.

Preorders for Pink Ribbon Bagels can be placed throughout October by visiting http://www.paneracovelli.com/gopinkpittsburgh.

Many businesses around the country are in on the fight for the cure. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, FL, is offering a “Get into Bed PINKTOBER.” You can sign up for that promotion before Oct. 22 for a “pink sheet” room complete with a pink robe.

New York restaurant owners are thinking pink and serving it up, too. “Be an epiCUREan” is a campaign to help raise money. Participating restaurants will identify a “pink” item on their menus, and whenever that item is ordered, the breast cancer piggy bank gets money (through October).

Washington, DC, is having a similar dining program called Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer.

NASCAR wasn’t going to take a backseat to joining the cause. NASCAR painted a pace car pink recently and put a pink ribbon on it. The auto racing association vowed to donate money for every lap that the pace car had to take around the track. In September, one of NASCAR’s races was rained out, and the laps of the pace car piled up.

“We are thrilled when a company decides to paint its building pink or when they allow women to take time off work for a mammogram or encourage them to get more information about breast cancer,” said Terry Music, chief mission delivery officer for the American Cancer Society.

“I want women to know the facts so we can end this once and for all,” Music said. Music lost her mother to breast cancer and said that early detection could have saved her life.

Hanes has been a longtime partner with the National Breast Cancer Foundation and is promoting a comfort package on Facebook this year. It’s a customizable kit including a T-shirt meant to be given as a gift. Hanes will give a portion of its profits to the fight against breast cancer.

“Comfort is more than just physical; it’s emotional, too,” said Sidney Falken, chief branding officer for Hanes. “We are proud to be partners with NBCF (National Breast Cancer Foundation) to help raise awareness of breast cancer and support a cause the Hanes consumer cares so deeply about.”

Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, out of Pennsylvania, put together 50 events aimed at educating women living in rural areas about breast cancer. The company kicked off its Pink 50 with a Dash for Hope in Grantville, PA, at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.

Certain lines of animal food packages were turned pink for the season.

“We wanted to put emphasis on women taking care of themselves,” said Anita Hood, equine specialist with Land O’Lakes.

Maryland-based energy company Sharp Energy, Inc., introduced a pink delivery truck. But that’s not all that the company delivers: Its customers also get information on breast cancer.

Two thousand women’s basketball teams participate in the “Pink Zone,” including Penn State University’s, which has raised more than $300,000 for the cause. Both teams wear pink during a given game, encourage fans to wear pink and collect money.

“The donation from Pink Zone (Penn State) enables our one-of-a-kind pink van, with the Lady Lion basketball logo as the sponsor, to travel around Pennsylvania as we work in every way possible to find a cure for breast cancer now so our daughters won’t have to,” said Pat Halprin-Murphy, president and founder of the PA Breast Cancer Coalition.

Crozer-Keystone Health System turns on pink lights in all of its facilities and encourages all employees to wear pink on Oct. 3 in addition to a month full of breast cancer awareness events.

Estée Lauder continues to give support to the cause.

“Together, we are stronger. Together we can do more. Together we can find a cure,” advocate Evelyn H. Lauder has said.

Macy’s (you can find one at Century III Mall along Route 51 in West Mifflin Borough) is also getting in on the pink-ribbon action. The department store is selling chocolates and stuffed animals to benefit breast cancer awareness.

, of Upper St. Clair Township, has a “Pink in Pittsburgh” basket for sale. The basket supports breast cancer awareness by donating 10 percent of its proceeds to the Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation. It includes a pink raffia basket, dark chocolate raspberry bark from The Toffee House, La Dolce pink graham crackers, Amber Spa Products lavender body wash and a pink bath loofah.

The Cutting Edge salon in Canonsburg Borough will offer pink manicures, pink feather extensions and pink hair extensions in October, with $5 from each service being donated to The Pink Daisy Project, an organization designed to help young women cope with the hardships of breast cancer treatment.

This article originally appeared on the .