October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Cobb EMC’s annual Pink Power Flock the Yard (#PinkPowerFlock) campaign is celebrating the thousands of brave, resilient women who are impacted by breast cancer every year with a small army of flamingos. Why flamingos? Because they are pink, just like the symbolic pink ribbons for Breast Cancer Awareness.

“First and foremost, we want this to be a fun way to remind everyone about something serious and that they don’t often want to discuss. Early detection is key in breast cancer and in all cancers,” said Kristen Delaney, Vice President of Marketing at Cobb EMC. “We hope that when people see these flamingos, it will make them smile and remind them to pick up the phone and make that appointment. Most people don’t realize that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 85% of those women will not have any family history of breast cancer. We all know how easy it is to get busy and let time slip by, but this is too important. Early detection is the key.” 

Participants can send one of the flocks of flamingos to a friend or neighbor's yard or sponsor a flamingo at the YMCA or at Northside Hospital. Discretionary donations to “feed the flock” can also be made and all donations received will go to support the YMCA’s Breast Cancer Survivor Programs and Cancer Support Community Atlanta. 

“Since early breast cancer often does not cause symptoms, regular screenings are incredibly important for early detection,” said Katie Pearson, Director of Operations at Northside Hospital. “We are thrilled to partner with Cobb EMC to remind our communities to get regular screening tests.  As Georgia’s largest cancer network, Northsideappreciates and supports Cobb EMC’s and the YMCA’s focus on prevention and early detection.” You can select the YMCA nearest you and sponsor a flamingo or a flock: 

• G. Cecil Pruett YMCA - 151 Waleska St, Canton, GA 30114
• McCleskey-East Cobb YMCA - 1055 E Piedmont Rd, Marietta, GA 30062
• Northeast Family YMCA - 3010 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta, GA 30062
• Northwest Family YMCA - 1700 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw, GA 30152

You can also select the Northside Hospital location nearest you and sponsor a flamingo or flock: 

• Northside Hospital Cherokee - 450 Northside Cherokee Blvd, Canton, GA 30115
• Northside Hospital Sixes Medical Building - 684 Sixes Rd, Holly Springs, GA 30114
• Northside Hospital Towne Lake - 900 Towne Lake Pkwy, Woodstock, GA 30188

People can also sponsor a flamingo (or the flock) directly at www.cobbemc.com/pinkpower.

“We had such great success with the #PinkPowerFlock campaign last year, and we are excited to partner with Cobb EMC and Northside hospital to make it even bigger,” said Betsy Mathews, Regional Development Director at the YMCA. “The flamingos are a fun way to remind women to make their mammogram appointments and detect breast cancer early.”

“If you’re driving by and see the flamingo flock and you make an appointment to get screened, then the campaign has done its job,” said Kevan Espy, President, and CEO of Cobb EMC. “The #PinkPowerFlock is easy to spot around our community to encourage women to make the appointment and seek preventable treatment if needed.”

According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in 2021 and there are more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. Breast cancer is sometimes found after symptoms appear but many women with breast cancer have no symptoms. Regular breast cancer screenings are an important way of early detection and prevention. Learn more at www.nationalbreastcancer.org.