Pedal to the Metal

Hello again everyone!

I am currently in my third week of placement at Breast Cancer Care WA (BCCWA) in West Perth and things are gearing up! I am now working three days a week at the BCCWA which is granting me fantastic opportunities to learn and exercise my (albeit still limited) public relations skills.

For those unfamiliar with BCCWA, it is a small grassroots charity that receives no government funding and is committed to providing personalised emotional, financial and practical support for WA women affected by breast cancer and their families. I am performing my placement in their Fundraising and Marketing Department and as a result, my duties mainly encompass the event management side of public relations.

Last week was a little...interesting. I was given two lever-arch files full of paper listing every participant that had registered for Purple Bra Day, BCCWA's biggest annual fundraiser, which was held back in June. Unfortunately, there was some confusion among registrants about the process of depositing their fundraising money into the account, which led to a large number of 'anonymous' deposits. My task was to call every single person and ascertain whether they had made their deposit yet and if so, the date and exact amount they had deposited, in order to match them to the bank statement.

This took two entire days. Generally, I would dial, ask about how their Purple Bra Day went and then explain the situation. It was pretty repetitive and not the greatest task to be left with, but to be honest, I can now say with absolute confidence that I have an exceptional phone manner!

Aside from that, I am continuing to organise the Vintage Clothing Market to be held Sunday, September 11 at Notre Dame University. It is the first time BCCWA has held this event and it is hoped that by nurturing the new relationship with Notre Dame, it can become an annual fixture on the BCCWA's event calendar. It promises to be a fantastic event, as I have had the opportunity to sort through some of the donated clothing and there are stacks of high quality, unique vintage pieces. The event artwork will be finalised next week and then the madness of printing and distributing the promotional material will begin!

Also, I have been given the task of organising an exciting event in October to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Traditionally, the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) has raised awareness during October by turning iconic Australian buildings pink, such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and The Bell Tower and Burswood here in Perth. My task was to get in before the big national guys and try to secure as many highly visible Perth icons to go PURPLE for us! Purple is BCCWA's signature colour and is used to differentiate it from the pink NBCF with which it holds no affiliation. Surprisingly, I got in before the NBCF at many locations and have secured some fantastic buildings to be lit purple in October to encourage WA women to have their annual mammogram and be 'breast aware'. I'll be pretty excited when Perth 'goes purple' in October. Many locations are still 'going pink' for the NBCF during the second week of October, so the cause should gain heaps of attention and raise lots of awareness, which (rivalries aside) is the main objective of both organisations.

That's a wrap for now, but you'll hear from me again soon.

Kind regards

Rebecca Schaus
14272149
Bentley Campus