Four breast cancer survivors in East County have started a campaign to bring pink license plates to California and are on a mission to reach 7,500 signatures before the DMV begins producing the license plates.
As of 7:15 Friday morning, the group has 2,126 signatures and needs 5,374 more. The group also recently participated in the Brentwood Relay for Life to raise cancer awareness and handed out material about the cause.
Heather Solari, one of the PinkPlate.org founders, explained idea behind this cause was to raise awareness and offer support to all women battling breast cancer. The idea came about nearly 8-months ago during a brain storm session with Chere Rush, Deborah Bordeau, and Heather McCollough.
One would think the idea would have the blessings of everyone, but that wasn’t the case.
“We went to the DMV and they gave us lots of information on the process,” explained Solari. “We began contacting state agencies and it became a struggle. We reached out to Joan Buchanan and she was a big help.”
Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan was more than happy to get involved and helped write AB 49 which will create the authorization to make the Pink Plate a reality. The only thing preventing it from becoming a reality is the signatures. One 7,500 signatures are collected, it will become effective January 1, 2014.
“The Pink Plate will provide additional funding for the Every Woman Counts program which provides breast cancer screenings for low income women as well as builds awareness that early detection saves lives. One in eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer. It touches all of us. When the Survivor Sisters came to me with the idea, I was surprised to learn that California didn’t have a pink plate already like 31 other states. It’s time for California to join the cause!” said Buchanan.
Buchannon shared she wanted to do something positive to help promote early detection and help more women and families survive this terrible disease
Chere Rush, also one of the groups founding members shared the struggle at first but now they have momentum thanks in part to the word getting out.
“It was amazing to see those who didn’t want anything to do with this, now they are coming back and helping,” said Rush.
Rush and Solari explained how folks in the Los Angeles area have picked up the cause and are now spreading the word which is helping, however, they will not stop working until California becomes the 32nd State with pink plates.
Join the Cause – become one of the 7,500
Currently, the group cannot collect payments until AB 49 is signed into law by Governor Brown. Right now they are asking you to pledge your support with just a signature. To show support, please visit the website and fill out the form.
Click here to sign the pledge: PinkPlate.Org
Where will the money go?
All funds generated from sales of the California Pink Plate will be deposited into the Breast Cancer Control Account, which funds the Every Woman Counts (EWC) program. EWC is administered by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and provides free clinical breast exams and mammograms to California’s underserved women.
The mission of the EWC is to save lives by preventing and reducing the devastating effects of cancer for Californians through education, early detection, diagnosis, and integrated preventive services, with special emphasis on the underserved. The Every Woman Counts program partners with county departments of public health and county health consortia across California to provide women with local, easy access to screenings.
We know that early detection is critical in treating breast cancer and increasing survival rates. Money generated from the California Pink Plate will allow more women across California to get regular breast exams and mammograms, potentially saving the lives of countless of women.
Pictured above are the Survivor Sisters from Contra Costa County who started the Pink Plate Campaign and brought the idea to Assemblymember Buchanan. (From left to right: Heather Solari, Chere Rush, Deborah Bordeau, Heather McCullough)
