The Bridgewater State University Police Department is one of 16 Massachusetts law enforcement agencies participating in the Pink Patch Project. For $5, donors get a BSU police patch trimmed in pink, with proceeds going to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For the past few years, the Pink Patch Project has been part of the annual commemoration. The project started in California, and has now spread across the United States. Assistant Chief of Police Matthew Rushton of the BSU department, learned about it on social media (#PinkPatchProject) and thought it was a great idea.
“Our officers had put pink ribbons on the cruisers just to bring awareness about breast cancer, and to show that police officers are human and that we have family members that have been affected by cancer,” Assistant Chief Rushton said. “I saw this and thought it was a fantastic idea.”
Approximately 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. The good news is that the disease can be treated with surgery, radiation, hormone therapy and/or chemotherapy. Early detection is key.
The entire BSU police department is in the pink to support breast cancer awareness. Along with the patches and the old standbys, ribbons, there are also pink handcuffs.
It’s all for a good cause, and Asst. Chief Rushton said he hopes the rest of the campus will step up and get the special patch.
“Really for us, it’s just about being visible letting people know that we support breast cancer research and survivors,” he said.
To order your patch, email Asst. Chief Rushton at MRUSHTON@bridgew.edu. Once you have it in hand, Tweet out a photo of your patch in different places using the #PinkPatchProject and #bsulife, also tagging @BSUPolice and @bridgestateu. (Story by John Winters, G ’11, University News & Media)