Starting in October, things are about to get a lot more colorful at Micky Finn's and it has nothing to do with Halloween. Beginning on the first Friday of October and continuing until the end of the month, Micky Finn’s is once again launching its “Pink Out For Breast Cancer Awareness” campaign.

Pink Out for Breast Cancer Awareness is an annual charitable initiative by Micky Finn’s to not only raise awareness of breast cancer but also to raise money for the McLeod Foundation.

Every year, throughout the entire month of October, Micky Finn’s stages “Pink Out Friday” where all store employees where pink Micky Finn's shirts and all profits from Friday wine sales are donated to the McLeod Foundation.

The Florence area institutions’ Pink Out For Breast Cancer Awareness campaign has been ongoing for the last five years and Micky Finn’s has managed to donate at least $10,000 each year to the McLeod Foundation.

Micky Finn’s has a long history with the McLeod Foundation. For instance, in 2021, the store provided the Foundation with a $10,000 donation to assist with the purchase of a new 3D mobile mammography unit.

At the time, Lauren Snipes of McLeod stated that the mobile mammography unit being used was 13 years old and was beginning to experience issues. Snipes explained that, in 2020, 56,000 women depended on McLeod Health’s mammography unit for breast cancer services closer to their homes. This includes services provided to counties throughout Northeastern South Carolina and Southeastern North Carolina.

Snipes explained that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in South Carolina, regardless of race. She stated that it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in South Carolina. In addition, she said that breast cancer is the leading cancer diagnosed on site at McLeod Health.

As the McLeod Breast Cancer Center states on its website, “Numerous studies have shown that when breast cancer is diagnosed early it has a cure rate of greater than 90 percent. Some breast cancers have no symptoms when the tumor is small and most treatable. Therefore, it is important to follow screening guidelines for early detection, before symptoms are noticeable.”

With those statistics, it’s hard to ignore the importance of acquiring new equipment and funding for the improvement of access to diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer.

Indeed, this is why Micky Finn’s didn’t stop at one campaign or only one donation. The need for a new mammography unit, which owner Rick Havekost discovered after learning about the efforts of high school senior Addie Bausmith to raise money at her school, was the impetus to create a longstanding annual campaign for the McLeod Foundation that continues to this day.

If you want to contribute to breast cancer awareness or to the McLeod Foundation you can always do so directly. Or, you can simply buy your wine on Fridays during October at Micky Finn’s.