Jerusalem – Four years ago, a student in Torah Academy of Bergen County decided to establish Pink Day to promote breast cancer awareness and show support to both those suffering from this disease and their families. It has since become a tradition at the New Jersey high school. When Tzvi Solomon graduated from TABC and left home to spend a year in yeshiva in Israel, he made the decision to take Pink Day with him to yeshiva.
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Currently studying in Yeshivat Lev Hatorah in Beit Shemesh, Tzvi made plans to keep the tradition going for another year. He designated Wednesday, February 10th, the yahrtzeit of a fellow student whose mother passed away from the disease, to be Pink Day for Breast Cancer Awareness. Participants in the event will wear pink and will donate $1 (or five shekel in Israel) to Sharsheret, a New Jersey based organization that assists young Jewish women who are faced with breast cancer.
As word of his plans spread, other schools requested to join in the program and from there, things expanded exponentially. Currently, over fifty Orthodox Jewish high schools, yeshivos and seminaries in the United States, Israel and Canada are taking part in the program and the Facebook group Pink Day for Breast Cancer Awareness has over 1,000 guests confirmed for this event. In the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area where school is expected to be cancelled tomorrow due to inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled for sometime next week. Different schools are dedicating the day in honor of different people, with Yavne of Dallas dedicating their Pink Day in memory of a mother who passed away from breast cancer just ten days ago.
In an exclusive interview with VIN News, Solomon explained his reasons for keeping the Pink Day tradition alive, since “almost all of us know someone who has had or has breast cancer. What we don’t know is who will have it next. It is important to understand when someone is diagnosed with cancer, the entire family, especially their children are traumatized. This disease takes its toll on the entire family and we want to show them, especially their children, that we are with them in their time of need. We need to show survivors, family and friends of this disease that we teenagers are standing behind them.” Aside from raising money for Sharsheret, Solomon hopes to put together of a collage of pictures from participating schools so that women suffering from breast cancer can feel inspired knowing how many young adults all over the world joined together to show their support.
What a beautiful idea. A childhood friend of mine died of breast cancer while in her 30s, leaving 4 small children behind. This disease affects the Jewish community in disproportionate numbers, and we should be much more vocal about fighting it.
Baruch Hashem! its about time! mi kiamcha yisroel we are not immune fkert we are more prone to this terrible disease. this machlah has effected many in our community. too many.
its a great idea just I think its not appropriate for a boy to be on this mission
Breast cancer rates in the US are about 1 in 9 women. Shockingly high. We don’t need a “cure,” we need to prevent such inflated numbers to begin with! Perhaps something we thinks is normal, is ok, is benign really isn’t. How about…. hormonal pills???? Hormonal replacement therapy given to menopausal women has been implicated in the spike of breast cancers. What about the good ol’ pill? There is a reason breast cancer is so high. Not enought to cure the disease once we get it, but to make sure we don’t get it to beging with.
Sunny why not?? Men can get breast cancer also? Is there something inappropriate about breast cancer awareness? If there is something about breast cancer that you find inappropriate, then perhaps you should be checked out bc there is obviously something wrong with you.
I think its amazing that such a young boy can have such an impact on society.
while well intentioned These kind of days should not be the focus in yeshivos but more torah study is the onky way to bring good on the world through torah and mitzvos hashem will take away all sicknesses lo aleinu.
I have one word for it “STUPID”
On behalf of Sharsheret, I can’t thank Tzvi enough for taking our mission and sharing it with the thousands of young men and women who are joining us on Pink Day! As the founder of the organization (diagnosed at age 28) and a two-time breast cancer survivor myself, I understand firsthand the importance of breast cancer awareness in saving lives. As the only national organization addressing breast cancer in young women in the Jewish community, Sharsheret is saving lives and supporting thousands of families diagnosed with breast cancer or at risk. We’ll be emailing 10,000 Sharsheret fans today to let them know all that Tzvi is doing in Israel. As part of Pink Day, I encourage all of you participating in this incredible event to join Sharsheret on Facebook and follow us on Twitter today! For more information about Sharsheret, please visit our website at http://www.sharsheret.org or call toll free 866 474 2774. Thank you for helping us save lives!
Thank you Tzvi, and thank you to the thousands who are raising critical funds and awareness on behalf of Sharsheret today!
Rochelle Shoretz
Founder and Executive Director
Sharsheret
The boy should be studying Torah to help prevent breast cancer and leave the awareness part to older, married women. The men may help in the fundraising efforts, to those who think men must be involved.
Theres loi aleinu v’loi aleichem, colon, lung, prostate, and sadly, many more. Some of of these are more prevalent and more deadly than breast cancer.
Breast cancer crusades are usually the province of feminists and women’s lib groups.
If his concern is prevention, treatment, awareness, etc, then why this cancer?
Why not all cancers?
to all of you!!!… first off i know tzvi personally and if any of you have anything bad to say then you are all ridiculous!! he is just 18 years old and has raised so much money in the past 4 years! to say that its not appropriate for him to be doing this is crazy! i dont you see you pulling this off!!!!!!
my mother died of breast cancer when i was 8 years old. i am now 20 and it still hurts everyday. i wish i would have had this kind of support when i needed it, and for my family too.
to those who think that boys learning in yeshiva will help prevent it.. you may want to rethink that because, as much as they can learn and say tehillim (even though its help in many cases), the person still may end up dieing, but raising the money to help find the cure is what may actually end up saving these people!
thank you tzvi for all your great work when ever there’s good people involved in great causes , the yetzar horah mixes in .tzvi don’t listen to them or get discouraged , thanks again for all support – a breast cancer patient