“We aren’t just doing this for one person, but for an entire group of people who are affected by breast cancer,” said Mikayla Dorsey, team leader of 50 Shade of Pink with Downtown Hair Designs.
Last year, Dorsey was on Facebook and saw a page called Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. The page intrigued her because her best friend and boss, Kelly Ball, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Making Strides is a 5K Walk that supports breast cancer awareness and it is a way to raise money to help the American Cancer Society support those affected by breast cancer. The event takes place for the second year in Mansfield on Saturday, October 19 at the Richland Carrousel Park.
“We got a bunch of girls together to form a team for the event. We debated on many team names and finally decided on 50 Shades of Pink because it was a name that stood out. We wanted to do this in honor of Kelly,” said Dorsey. The team name was influenced by the popular book, 50 Shades of Gray.. “The book was very popular last year and we decided to change it to pink instead of grey,” said Dorsey.
Making Strides came to Mansfield for the first time last year. Unfortunately, Ball could not participate in the walk last year. “Kelly couldn’t walk last year, but we wanted a group for her. We had eight people walk in our group and we raised about $1,500 last year. This year, we have between 15-20 people in our group. However, we do not know how much money we have raised because all of the money is in a piñata right now. We will find out the day of the event how much we have raised,” said Dorsey.
Ball was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 31, 2012 and is a year and a half survivor. “These girls helped me so much throughout the time I was diagnosed. I had to take time off for appointments and treatments. They were always right there with me through it all. I will be walking in the event this year. Mikayla is the team leader of this group,” said Ball.
Dorsey was amazed at the support that was shown last year during Making Strides. “We met a lot of great people and it was incredible to see everyone participating in this event for a wonderful cause. We are excited this year because there will be more teams participating and we can’t wait to see the turnout,” said Dorsey.
50 Shades of Pink will be wearing their team shirts and pink bandanas. The team has been fundraising in numerous ways. “We have been selling car stickers and pink bracelets for three dollars. We also have been offering a small streak of pink in customer’s hair for one dollar or a large streak for five dollars. We also have offered pink on customer’s nails for one dollar or large decals of pink for five dollars. We have been giving free haircuts and styles for breast cancer survivors during the month of October,” said Ball.
Ball kept a positive attitude throughout her diagnosis. “I told my husband that I was in a win-win situation. If I was supposed to go then I was ready, but if I’m not supposed to go, then I still have some work left to do,” said Ball.
“Kelly is one of my best friends and participating in Making Strides was all worth it and I can’t wait to do it this year,” said Dorsey.
“These girls helped me so much throughout the time I was diagnosed. I had to take time off for appointments and treatments. They were always right there with me through it all,” stated Kelly Ball.
