Sharsheret’s official Pink Day was celebrated on Wednesday, February 8, as a day to raise breast cancer awareness and share information about Sharsheret’s vital programs and services. At Ma’ayanot, my Chessed Committee co-chair Atara Neugroschl and I, along with our faculty advisor Ms. Caryn Keller, decided to push the envelope by extending the programming to encompass the entire week.
Sharsheret is an amazing organization and brings crucial services to so many people. We wanted to really highlight the organization and raise as much money and awareness for breast cancer as we could. There was no way this could be done in one day, so we decided to run programs throughout the whole week. Pink Week started off with announcements after davening which introduced the week’s events, followed by the opportunity for students to purchase Pink Day-themed apparel. The energy and excitement for the week was obvious as many students, lead by senior Shoshana Dimbert, helped decorate the school with pink streamers, balloons and other thematic decorations. This helped set the mood and continued to get everyone in Ma’ayanot excited for the events to come.
On Tuesday, Ma’ayanot participated in a Sharsheret fundraiser called Manicure For a Cure, where students from the Empire Beauty School volunteered to give manicures. Dozens of students, faculty and parents received manicures, with all proceeds going to Sharsheret.
“Manicure For a Cure was an incredible and creative way to raise money and awareness. The pink nail polish used for the manicures stood out for the rest of Pink Week and it was amazing that we could run this program in school for the first time and raise hundreds of dollars,” said Neugroschl.
The programming peaked on Wednesday, the official Pink Day. The entire student body, decked out in pink shirts and accessories, participated in a challah bake and while the dough rose, they heard from Mrs. Melissa Rosen, Sharsheret’s director of national outreach. Mrs. Rosen spoke about the numerous services that Sharsheret provides, the importance of the organization and different ways the Ma’ayanot students could get involved. The students left feeling inspired by Sharsheret and then returned to braid their challah dough, dyed pink in honor of Sharsheret.
The week capped off on Friday with pink desserts and fresh waffles being sold at breakfast as a final fundraiser, lead by juniors Eliana Wagner and Temima Yellin. In all, we raised over $500 for Sharsheret. None of the week’s amazing programming would have been possible without the extensive work done by every member of the Chesed Committee, all the student volunteers, Mrs. Rachel Feldman, Dr. Shoshana Poupko and Ms. Keller.
By Adira Levine, Ma’ayanot Class of 2018
