Sorority uses yogurt lids to save lives

The women of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority will flood the Lory

Student Center Plaza with pink on Friday in an effort to raise

money and awareness for breast cancer research.

“We are asking the whole campus to wear pink in support of the

‘Save Lids to Save Lives’ campaign,” said Katie Ryan, the

philanthropy chair and a junior equine science and agricultural

business major.

Friday will be the final collection day and ZTA members will be

on the Plaza all day collecting Yoplait yogurt lids.

“Yoplait will donate 10 cents for every lid collected to the

Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation,” said ZTA president Layne

Scovill, a senior environmental health major.

This campaign is one of the major events ZTA sponsors to support

breast cancer awareness and prevention.

“Hopefully this will bring awareness to how important breast

cancer is and that it can happen to both men and women,” Ryan

said.

Devon Milligan, a freshman fashion merchandising major, does

everything she can to help support breast cancer awareness,

including wearing a pink ZTA ribbon.

“My aunt had breast cancer and I have run the Race for the Cure

every year since I was 8. I think its great that they are raising

awareness about breast cancer with the ribbons,” Milligan said.

This is the first year ZTA collected yogurt lids to further its

cause.

“Even though breast cancer is the philanthropy of all Zeta Tau

Alpha chapters, we were one in 12 chapters given the ‘Save Lids to

Save Lives’ program by the national chapter. This is the pilot

program,” Ryan said.

The women have been getting their message out around campus by

handing out pink ribbons on the Plaza and at various sporting

events.

“The campus has been very responsive. Everyone wants a pink

ribbon and lots of people put them on their backpacks. We are

really excited to collect the lids this year,” Ryan said.

ZTA also hosted a yogurt-eating contest on the Plaza on Oct. 19

in an effort to collect more lids.

“It’s nice to see that what we do makes a difference. It makes

me feel really good to see that something I do affects people. This

is an important cause because one in eight women are diagnosed with

breast cancer,” said junior Audrie Wilcock, a ZTA member and a

psychology major.

Milligan realized this year that breast cancer affects all

women.

“I used to think only older women got breast cancer, but the

fact is young women get it too, even college students,” Milligan

said.

The ZTA women said they do whatever they can to support breast

cancer awareness and research.

“We want to make people aware of breast cancer. It is a really

big killer and affects lots of people. I know so many people who

have had breast cancer or have been affected by it. It is also

important to reach out to guys. Four-hundred men a year die of

breast cancer, but they have wives, mothers, and sisters, too.

Early detection is the best way to fight it. That’s what we are

trying to advocate,” said ZTA member Nicholette Andrews, a junior

speech communications major.

In addition to the “Save Lids to Save Lives” campaign, ZTA

members also volunteer at the survivor’s booth at the Race for the

Cure and make bracelets for breast cancer survivors. The bracelets

are delivered to a cancer center in Denver along with inspirational

messages.