Last month a Karoo dorp painted the town pink for can-cer awareness and to raise a whopping R200 000 for the local cancer association.
Last month a Karoo dorp painted the town pink for can-cer awareness and to raise a whopping R200 000 for the local cancer association.
Technically the trees were actually wrapped up in pink cloth, but no matter, the Pink Trees for Pauline project sur-passed its goals and seemed to truly unite the town. Graaff-Reinet resident Nolette Grundlingh noted how, “it’s heart-warming to see how everyone has come on board, and people who don’t have trees in front of their houses or businesses have wrapped their pillars”.
It was even featured on SABC 2’s Morning Live on Friday, 19 October, when the week’s preparations came to fruition. Cars draped in pink, drum majorettes and a brass band paraded through the streets, cheered on by pink-clad locals. A church service and remembrance walk were also held to honour survivors and remember victims of cancer.
Carol-Ann van Jaarsveld was inspired to launch the ini-tiative after losing her mother and grandmother, both named Pauline, to cancer. “There is nobody today who doesn't have a Pauline in their life,” van Jaarsveld said, elaborating that most people know someone or are somehow af-fected by cancer.
She aimed to raise R150 000 for the Graaff-Reinet and Districts Cancer Asso-ciation, but surpassed this by over R50 000. This was done by having sponsors donate funds to purchase the pink material in bulk, which was then sold to residents and businesses for a minimum donation of R20 per metre.
Van Jaarsveld has chal-lenged other South African towns to follow suit, and a few have already accepted the challenge – including Gra-hamstown.
When Grocott’s Mail spoke to her last week she confirmed that one cancer organisation in town has agreed to paint the town pink next year. Go to www.pinktrees.org to see a brief overview and the objectives of the campaign.
