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CMU students and faculty shook what their mothers gave them Saturday as part of a nationwide Zumba effort to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Deemed the “Party in Pink,” this was the Hamilton Recreation Center’s second consecutive year raising funds through zumba courses and donations for a local community member battling breast cancer.
“Each October for breast cancer awareness month, we try to pick somebody locally so we can highlight them and draw more people in because there’s a personal connection there,” said Kylie Holley, CMU’s manager of wellness and fitness.
This year the Hamilton Recreation Center highlighted Shayn Sherman, a friend of director Lynn Wilson. Sherman is a Grand Junction local, mother of two,and the owner of Wave Length Salon. Sherman’s doctors discovered cancerous cells over ten years ago. Since then, she’s had a masectomy, but the cancer reappeared, launching her into another difficult battle.
“Yesterday, [Shayn Sherman] told me that it’s people like this that make her journey possible,” Wilson said. “If all this means is she can go out to dinner without having to worry about paying medical bills, we’ve done something good.”
While “Party in Pink” is normally sponsored by Zumba Fitness, the Hamilton Recreation Center opted to keep their donations local by not affiliating itself with the national organization.
“They [Zumba Fitness] don’t sponsor ours because if you do, you send a lot of the money back to the Zumba foundation,” Holley said. “So we just do the zumba routines with certified instructors and send the money to somebody who we select.”
Student and zumba instructor Damitri Miller was drawn to the event because of her family’s own confrontations with breast cancer.
“Quite a few years ago, my cousin passed away because of breast cancer ,and around the same time, my aunt got diagnosed,” Miller said. “It’s a big factor in my life, so I decided to help out.”
Miller helped lead the zumba courses throughout the duration of the fundraiser and offered advice to fellow students.
“You have to check yourself,” Miller said. “I think it’s important to get the word out that it’s okay to go for breast exams, man or woman.”
According the American Cancer Society “about one in eight (12 percent) women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer during their life. In 2013 232,340 new cases are predicted to be diagnosed, while 39,620 women are predicted to die from breast cancer.
Even though October is over, efforts to raise awareness for breast cancer will continue throughout the year. The Hamilton Recreational Center is currently working on a variety of other events for the months of November and December.
“It’s good to know that you’re not alone,” Miller said.
cferganc@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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