Savannah famously turns green in March. In October, it turns pink.
St. Joseph's/Candler launched the 19th year of its Paint the Town Pink initiative on Thursday, the medical system's flagship initiative for breast cancer awareness and prevention.
October is national Breast Cancer Awareness month, and SJ/C, along with media partners WSAV and the Savannah Morning News, lead programming throughout the month to raise awareness.
For SJ/C, the initiative is also a critical effort to raise money for the Telfair Mammography Fund, which provides preventative care for uninsured and underinsured persons in the region. The fund supports no-cost screening and diagnostic mammograms, breast
ultrasounds, MRIs, image-guided breast biopsies, and surgical costs "where appropriate," according to the fund's website.
"This fund is for the uninsured and underinsured to take that financial boogieman out of the equation, so no woman, and this is not hyperbole, would be denied a mammogram in Savannah, Georgia," said SJ/C President and CEO Paul P. Hinchey.
Donations can be made through the fund's website. Last year's campaign raised $70,000.
Mammograms can be scheduled by calling 912-819-PINK, and organizations wanting to host a Paint the Town Pink event can register to do so online at www.sjchs.org.
Events set to span the entire month include a partnership with downtown's The Olde Pink House. The restaurant will donate $1 from every "Pink Lady" cocktail to the Pain the Town Pink initiative.
There is also a month-long partnership with Leopold's Ice Cream to donate to the initiative a portion of proceeds from purchases of a new, specialty flavor named The Telfair, a sorbet offering that blends cucumber with watermelon.
Residents can also expect breast cancer awareness-related storytelling from SJ/C's media partners.
The Savannah Morning News will feature stories on local cancer survivors, insights from physicians and other healthcare professionals at SJ/C and daily breast cancer awareness facts, according to SMN's Executive Editor Jill Nevels-Haun.
WSAV's storytelling will be led by Anchor Tina Tyus-Shaw. Shaw will host a special, hour-long segment on male breast cancer survivors. The segment will feature the stories of three Coastal Georgia survivors.
"These are the stories that I am proud to be able to share, to be able to give you an idea of the lives that are being touched," Shaw said at Thursday's kickoff.
This year's Paint the Town Pink initiative will conclude with a wrap-up event on Nov. 6 at SJ/C's Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion. A full schedule of October's events can be found online.
Evan Lasseter is the City of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: St. Joseph's/Candler kicks off monthlong Paint the Town Pink
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