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Tribe displays support for breast cancer awareness

by Beverly Bidney -
Tribal members and employees in Big Cypress wear pink as they participate in the annual “Pink Out” photo Oct. 18. (Photo Beverly Bidney)

In what has become a fall tradition for the Seminole Tribe and Seminole Hard Rock, Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities were held throughout October.

Indigenous Pink Day is held on the third Thursday in October to raise awareness of breast cancer in Indian Country. This year it was on Oct. 20, but activities from the Integrative Health Department were held all week on every reservation.

Cancer survivor Lorraine Posada held an Indigenous Pink bake sale in Immokalee on Oct. 20 to raise money for the Cancer Alliance of Naples. Posada spent four days baking individual sized pumpkin cheesecakes, carrot cake cookies and apple puff pastries. She made 60 of each sweet treat.

Tribal members and employees were smart to get to the bake sale early. It started at 11 a.m. and everything was sold out by 11:35 a.m. The sale raised $1,203.

Pinktober, a campaign aimed at promoting breast cancer awareness and raising money to fight the disease, is a longstanding tradition at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood as well as other Hard Rock properties around the world.

A kickoff event Oct. 4 in Hollywood featured celebrity chef Dominique Crenn and a five-course dinner at Abiaka restaurant. Crenn is a breast cancer survivor and an advocate for women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community.

Through the Hard Rock Heals Foundation – the company’s charitable arm – proceeds from the campaign support the American Cancer Society (ACS) and other organizations in the fight against breast cancer. Last year, Hard Rock said the 2021 Pinktober campaign raised more than $700,000, the largest amount since the program began in 2000.

“Music is our heart and philanthropy is our soul,” Gina Cadahia, vice president of brand reputation for Seminole Hard Rock support services, said during the kickoff event.

Pinktober features special pink-themed menu items at the properties and retail stores. Seminole Hard Rock Tampa is the “Pink Premier” sponsor for ACS’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. The 2.5 mile walk was held Oct. 29 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Breast cancer survivors Maggie Porter, left, Lorraine Posada, center, and health nutrition counselor Andrea Kuzbyt pose together during the Indigenous Pink bake sale in Immokalee Oct. 20. (Photo Beverly Bidney)
A creative and colorful display was set up for Brighton’s “Think Pink” photo with several employees. (Cecilia Kostadinov)
From left, Lillian Joni Johnson, Brighton Councilman Larry Howard and Lois Billie show plenty of enthusiasm. (Cecilia Kostadinov)
Ahfachkee School staff poses for a Pink Day photo in the school cafeteria Oct. 18. (Courtesy photo)
From left, Nauthkee Henry, Erika Dias Vargas, and Bryan Arledge at Brighton’s “Think Pink” photo event. (Cecilia Kostadinov)
From left, Kianna Emery, Chelsy Wisniewski, Carley McCoin, Wayne Reese, Hyatt Pearce and Kai Setty in Brighton. (Cecilia Kostadinov)
Chef Dominique Crenn, right, prepares food while Elena Alvarez, Hard Rock International’s vice president of sales and marketing cafes, looks on during the Pinktober kickoff Oct. 4 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. (Hard Rock)
Beverly Bidney
Beverly Bidney has been a reporter and photographer for The Seminole Tribune since 2012. During her career, she has worked at various newspapers around the country including the Muskogee Phoenix in Oklahoma, Miami Herald, Associated Press, USA Today and other publications nationwide. A NAJA award winning journalist, she has covered just about everything over the years and is an advocate for a strong press. Contact her at beverlybidney@semtribe.com.
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