‘Pink Out’ winner to be named Friday night

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 

Several CCISD campuses have been decked out in pink for the “Pink Out” contest for the month of October held by Pink Warrior Angels.
With the month of October having become known as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the local nonprofit Pink Warrior Angels put the word out about its decorating contest that started September 1, with decorations to be up and on display by October 1. 
The judges are stopping by each campus today, and on Friday evening one campus will be named the winner and that school’s PTO will receive $100 and a plaque from Pink Warrior Angels, said the nonprofit’s founder, Julie Moser. 
This is the third year Pink Warrior Angels has held a Pink Out decorating contest, which was open to both schools and businesses. However, no businesses participated in decorating this year. 
The Pink Out contest is just one of a series of initiatives held by PWA.
Next up for Pink Warrior Angels is its Party In Pink Zumbathon set for Sunday, October 15 from 1-3 p.m. at the Armed Services YMCA in Harker Heights. 
Funds raised from the Pink Out contest, the recent Pink Warrior Dash in September, along with Sunday’s Zumbathon go toward a singular cause—assisting breast cancer patients in a variety of ways. 
In the two years since being formed, PWA has provided financial assistance to at least 78 families since becoming an established 501c3. Assistance ranges from grocery services, house cleaning, meal services, and even providing funeral transportation. PWA distributes an average of $2,000 per month on a case-by-case basis to those battling breast cancer, and also supplies chemo care kits and helps purchase post-surgical bras for breast cancer patients.
Moser is presently attending the Breast Health Collaborative of Texas’ annual conference in Houston. The event is dedicated to improving breast healthcare for the medically underserved in Texas. 
Also at Friday night’s Pink Out game, the Pride of Cove Band will be sporting pink plumes on their uniform hats. 
According to Moser, going pink with a purpose that she hopes no one loses sight of, and the plumes particularly each have their own significance—there’s a name behind the pink.
“Each plume is marked with somebody’s name, either in honor of or in memory of someone,” Moser said. “I just wanted to reiterate, because there’s a lot of pink-washing in October. It’s important to remember those who’ve passed; recently, we’ve had two in our group who’ve passed.”
Last summer, Pink Warrior Angels volunteers along with Pride of Cove band members washed cars and raised funds to purchase the plumes for the band, worn last year to honor and remember those who fought cancer, including their band director, Andrew Nixon, who passed away in May 2016.