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Editor’s Note: Daily Staff Reporter Tenzin Menrinetsang is a member of alpha Kappa Delta Phi. Menrinetsang did not contribute to the reporting or editing of this article.
The University of Michigan sorority alpha Kappa Delta Phi hosted its annual Mr. Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Pageant Friday evening in the Michigan Union Kuenzel Room. The charity event brought together approximately 100 U-M students, staff and parents to fundraise and help bring awareness during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
Several student groups, including multiple Asian multicultural organizations, such as FunKtion and DB3 — Daebak 3, both all-male dance groups, performed at the pageant. In addition to group performances, the pageant hosted a Breast Cancer trivia challenge and additional individual performances. During the individual performances, audience members vote for a winner to claim the title of Mr. Pink.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Lina Hashimoto, vice president of service for alpha Kappa Delta Phi, discussed the event’s past success and the impact of the fundraising.
“This will be our third annual show, and it’s dedicated to raising funds and awareness for breast cancer, and it’s highlighting the sorority’s commitment to supporting women and families affected by the disease,” Hashimoto said. “As a whole sorority, we have raised $1.1 million so far to this date. So Mr. Pink is not only entertaining, but it also serves as a powerful platform and a community support.”
Hashimoto said the funds will be sent to the aKDPhi Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on empowering women through fundraising, and then will be given as grants to organizations with a focus on breast cancer awareness and support. Hashimoto also described some of the educational aspects of the event, such as a slideshow presentation during the event with information about common symptoms of breast cancer and how to perform a self-exam.
Katrina Oide, vice president of internal affairs of alpha Kappa Delta Phi, told The Daily about the performances that would take place during the pageant and the highlight of the pageant.
“It is one of our largest (philanthropy events), and we tend to advertise it as a way for contestants, who are usually in other Asian-related student organizations on campus, to get involved, and this allows us to get other organizations involved,” Oide said. “I would say the highlights are having these contestants vie for certain titles or awards.”
Other student organizations including Seoul Juice, Female Gayo, Revolution and Photonix performed throughout the evening. The pageant concluded with the announcement of the winner of Mr. Pink: Engineering junior Brandon Shin, a member of the Asian American Association, who performed a brief miming act.
LSA junior Alanna Qiu, member of the student K-pop dance team Female Gayo, told The Daily the pageant offers a place to have fun representing their group while performing and promoting breast cancer awareness.
“We perform here every year,” Qiu said. “It’s just nice to support aKDPhi and breast cancer awareness. We just come here to perform, to have fun and also to support the cause and also the show is really fun.”
Daily Staff Reporter Cristina Micu can be reached at cmicu@umich.edu.
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