Friday night’s PRCA rodeo performance is “Tough Enough to Wear Pink”. Sponsors will donate money for every person wearing pink, and all proceeds will benefit the Montana Breast and Cervical Health Program.
Tough Enough To Wear Pink™ (TETWP), the grassroots cowboy campaign fighting breast cancer since 2004, celebrated its seventh anniversary this year by surpassing the $12 million dollar mark in funds raised since its inception. Hundreds of volunteers and regional rodeos across the U.S. and Canada made this achievement possible. The top 2011 fundraising events included Missoula Stampede, Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo/Badland’s Circuit Finals, Cattlemen’s Days of Gunnison, Fremont County Fair & Wind River Round-Up, Red Bluff Round-Up and the bell ringer event of Cowboy’s for Cancer in Las Cruces, New Mexico which raised over $900,000.
“We were thrilled to announce we surpassed the $12 million mark at the Wrangler National Final Rodeo in Las Vegas on Tough Enough To Wear Pink Night,” explains Terry Wheatley, who formed the program alongside former Wrangler® Director of Special Events and current Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association Commissioner, Karl Stressman. “All money raised benefits local breast cancer charities and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which funds groundbreaking breast cancer research projects internationally.”
Wheatley, a California entrepreneur who owns and operates Canopy Management, a Napa Valley wine company creating, marketing and selling wine under the Wine Sisterhood™ banner, is a rodeo wife, mom and breast cancer survivor. One of Wine Sisterhood’s wines, Purple Cowboy, is the official wine of TETWP. Purple Cowboy is also the official wine of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association.
Purple Cowboy wines include Tenacious Red, a Cabernet/Merlot blend, Trail Boss Cabernet and Night Rider Merlot, all from the cowboy wine country appellation of Paso Robles.
Tough Enough to Wear Pink was created seven years ago when Wheatley and Stressman issued a challenge to the cowboys: Are You Tough Enough To Wear Pink? During one night of the 10-night Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the competitors were dared to wear the color pink to bring attention to the need for early detection and a cure for breast cancer, a disease which affects many families in the western community. Cowboys and cowgirls created a sensation when they galloped into the championship arena ablaze in pink. Inspired rodeo fans soon began asking how they could put on TETWP events at their own hometown rodeos, and the grassroots fundraising took off one rodeo at a time.
TETWP continues to be spearheaded by Wheatley, while the Wrangler brand remains the program’s title sponsor, selling the official pink apparel of TETWP. Lacey and Katie Wheatley coordinate with rodeos and other non-rodeo organizations to create the pink-themed fundraisers across the country throughout the year.
Visit http://www.toughenoughtowear pink.com to learn more.
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