By Tamarra Kemsley
A local boutique will be providing discounts for shoppers and giving a portion of their proceeds to breast cancer awareness this month.
Now until Oct. 23, patrons of the Apricot Lane Boutique can donate a dollar to Y-Me and receive a $5 coupon in return.
Pink products will also be on sale during the month, and the proceeds will be donated to Y-Me.
The peak of the campaign will be a pink party on Oct. 22, said Maren Black assistant store manager. The event will be free and open to the public and will include refreshments, a 20 percent discount on all items in the store and drawings for prizes. A percentage of that night’s sales will go to cancer breast awareness.
Y-Me began in 1978 when two breast cancer survivors, Mimi Kaplan and Ann Marcou, decided to form an organization that would put those with breast cancer survivors in touch with each other.
The organization fills a unique role in the lives of those battling breast cancer by providing a help hotline staffed entirely by breast cancer survivors trained as counselors said Sean Kennedy, a representative for Y-Me.
“Through the hotline it’s possible for patients to talk to someone who has been in their shoes and can empathize with them perfectly about the emotional and physical toll of the illness,” Kennedy said. “And they do it in 150 languages.”
Apricot Lane Boutique chose to support Y-Me because of the emphasis on mothers and daughters said publicist Stacey Graham.
“We just felt it was a perfect organization for us to partner with that was hands-on and directly helps our customers who may be directly helped and affected by it,” Graham said.
“It’s nice to know in your core that you’re doing something that makes a difference,” she said.
Nicolle Okoren, sociology major, said the campaign would encourage individuals to shop at the boutique.
“Personally, something like this makes me much more likely to shop there if I know I am benefiting a cause,” Okoren said.
Apricot Lane Boutique is located at 4801 N. University Ave. The pink party will be held on Oct. 22 from 3 to 6 p.m.
