Wyandotte Events Help Pay for 45 Mammograms

After volunteers spent countless hours turning Wyandotte pink throughout October for National Breast Cancer Month, the green has started to roll in and be put to good use. 

Nearly $4,500 has been donated thus far to the Yes Ma’am Program at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, which provides free mammograms to women without insurance and other means of being screened, according to hospital spokeswoman Stephanie Scheer.

The money has come from a variety of events held in October, including a 3K run/walk, a comedy night fundraiser and T-shirt sales by the Wyandotte Fire Department.

Every $100 raised pays for one mammogram, according to Shelly Hass, the Yes Ma’am program champion.

In addition to raising money, Hass said, the month of events helped raise awareness about her Wyandotte-based program.

“We found a lot of businesses that were supporting other breast cancer programs, but didn’t know about what we do locally,” she said. “We were out there quite a bit throughout the month, keeping the community in the know that we were there and that our program exists.”

Hass said she was impressed by the number of volunteers who came out to help run the various events. She intended to help work the registration table at the 3K, but ended up being able to walk it with her husband instead.

“People who didn’t even own businesses showed up to help,” she said. “They just lived in Wyandotte and wanted to come out and help. … It was awesome and a very touching event.”

Peter Rose, who owns Chelsea Menswear & Shoes, was one of the event organizers and said plans are already under way for more events next year.

“Education was done,” he said. “Awareness was raised. We celebrated survivors, we remembered so many lost. National is great, but in Wyandotte, the pinkness had real connectivity to real people. … Stay tuned for next year. We're unaware of anything like this anywhere close, and we have set the stage for future efforts to raise the bar higher. Wyandotte rules, after all.”

Anyone wanting more information on the Yes Ma’am program or who wants to donate to it can call Hass at 734-671-1069.

For more coverage of Wyandotte's breast cancer activities, check out our story page.