UNA Sorority Hosts Annual Events for Breast Cancer Awareness

Oct. 18, 2011

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - The Zeta Tau Alpha sorority chapter of the University of North Alabama will host its annual "Pink Week" events Oct. 31 through Nov. 4 to raise awareness about breast cancer. The yearly UNA activities and party bring in funding for the Susan B. Komen for the Cure Foundation. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and groups across the nation are taking action to spread the word about the cancer that Susan B. Komen officials predict will produce more than 230,000 cases in women this year. The same data also projects 39,520 breast cancer deaths among women in 2011 in the United States. Jennie Sun, a UNA student and president of ZTA, said the sorority is working hard this year to make the "Pink Week" events fun and inviting to the UNA and local communities. "The community and campus should get involved because our main goal is to raise as much awareness as possible for breast cancer," she said. "We want to make sure women of all ages are educated about this life threatening disease and can detect it as early as possible." Members of ZTA will host the annual Pink Party the evening of Nov. 4, for all students, faculty, staff and community members to enjoy. Erin McCay, Pink Party chair with ZTA and UNA student, said the party will consist of entertainment by Moon Dance, a yogurt eating contest, a pink balloon arch with breast cancer awareness bows and more. The "Pink Week" events leading up to the Nov. 4 party will include ZTA members handing out pink lemonade, encouraging fraternities to purchase individual paper links for a breast cancer awareness paper chain, and painting the UNA campus pink. McCay said members of her sorority have been directly impacted by breast cancer throughout their lives and have overcome their struggles to help educate other people about breast cancer and how to detect the early signs of the disease. "A lot of the girls in our sorority have had family members affected by breast cancer, so it's an issue that is near and dear to our hearts," she said. The national chapter of ZTA was first founded in 1898 by the Virginia State Female Normal School in and established the ZTA Foundation for breast cancer education and awareness in 1954. The UNA chapter of ZTA was founded in March 1973. For more information about the "Pink Week" events and party, contact Deante' Smith, assistant director of student engagement for Greek Life at 256-765-4248.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.