Everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Month, but not everyone knows how busy being a Zeta Tau Alpha is during this month. Being a ZTA, we know that October is much more than just painting the world pink. Many people know and have heard about breast cancer but not everyone knows how many people are affected by it. One in eight women are affected by breast cancer in their lifetimes and even many of those people have more than one connection with breast cancer in their lives.

During the whole month of October, Zeta's are raising money for Breast Cancer Education and Awareness through philanthropy events and t-shirt sales. We educate women by handing out pamphlets to show women how they can check their own breasts for lumps and handing out pink ribbons to students on campus to spread awareness. We also enjoy volunteering for races around the state including the Making Strides Race in Topeka KS, where we help out by cheering on all the racers and anything else they may need help with during the race. Personally, this is my favorite because you can really see how many people really care about this disease and how many people have been affected and are still fighting or who have overcome their battle. And of course, everyone honors all the men and women who had lost their battle to cancer.

Last year Zeta Tau Alpha Beta Upsilon raised a little over $31,000 from three philanthropy events and one social media campaign called, 10K with ZTA. We raised the most money out of the other Zeta Tau Alpha's near us and even won an award for how much we made. I love that Breast Cancer Education and Awareness is our philanthropy because it means a lot to me personally and I love seeing that what we do really makes a difference in many women's lives.