for immediate release
Tough Enough To Wear Pink?™ Rides into October with Gold Buckle Performance
Awareness campaign reaches record-breaking million dollar fundraising mark
HUGHSON, Calif. (Oct. 30, 2007) – By convincing rodeo cowboys and cowgirls to sport the color pink during competition, a creative and unlikely breast cancer awareness campaign is celebrating its most successful year to date. The Tough Enough To Wear Pink?™ campaign – created by entrepreneur and breast cancer survivor Terry Wheatley – has surpassed the $1 million dollar mark set in 2006, and rodeo competitors and fans alike are wearing pink to rodeos and western events across America.
“The idea for the campaign came out of my family’s experience with the disease and our ties to the western community,” explains Wheatley, whose husband Jim is a former professional rodeo cowboy and son Wade is a current professional team roper.
Wheatley’s mother, grandmother, daughter, and Wheatley herself have all been touched by the disease. Wheatley and her mother are survivors; daughter, Katie underwent two surgical biopsies by the age of 20; and sadly, Wheatley’s grandmother passed away from breast cancer. Motivated to action, Wheatley utilized her sales and marketing background to challenge the world’s top cowboys and cowgirls to wear pink as they competed at the 2004 Wrangler® National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
“You have to be tough to be a cowboy – and to face breast cancer. We thought challenging to the cowboys to wear pink would send a strong message and help unite the western community against the disease.” recalled Wheatley. “We weren’t sure until the cowboys started riding into the arena whether anybody would take the challenge. When we saw a sea of cowboys wearing pink shirts, we knew the idea had struck a chord.”
In 2005, the TETWP™ campaign found a valuable ally in Wrangler®. Utilizing the strength of the brand to unify the western industry, the Wrangler brand pooled the resources of dozens of retailers and top western industry companies to join the fight against breast cancer. The initiative spread quickly as hundreds of local rodeos nationwide hosted TETWP™ Nights of their own and raised money for their local breast cancer causes.
Building on successes of years’ past – 2007 has generated record-breaking participation over 250 rodeos in the U.S. and Canada. The campaign allows local communities to raise funds for various local and national breast cancer charities, or to simply increase breast cancer awareness.
Recently, TETWP intrigued supporters from another tough-guy sport. A successful campaign started by New Mexico State University head football Coach Hal Mumme – whose wife June is battling the disease – culminated on Sept. 29, 2007 in a colorful match between NMSU and Arkansas Pine Bluff. Pink ribbons were painted on the field and coaches and fans sported pink shirts. The three-month campaign raised over $200,000 to fund the breast cancer and women’s cancer research project center at NMSU. Coach Mumme credits the rodeo community for inspiring him to bring TETWP™ to the gridiron.
TETWP Nights at rodeos in the Midwest have raised funds to support another cause with football roots, the Deanna Favre Hope Foundation. The charity founded by Deanna Favre, a breast cancer survivor, and her husband Brett Favre – Green Bay Packers’ quarterback – provides financial treatment assistance to underserved women with breast cancer in Wisconsin and Mississippi. For more information visit www.deannafavre4hope.com.
“We’ve been awestruck by the span and strength of our supporters,” says Wheatley. “TETWP™ has proven itself a unique grassroots movement bringing communities together against a disease that touches us all.”
About Tough Enough To Wear Pink?™ (TETWP™)
TETWP™ was created by entrepreneur and breast cancer survivor Terry Wheatley to bring the sport of professional rodeo and the entire western community together to rally against breast cancer. Since its inception in 2004, TETWP™ has empowered rodeos in the U.S. and Canada to focus attention on the need for a cure and raise over $2 million dollars for breast cancer charities, much of which stays right in the community. The grassroots movement has inspired other sports communities to mount their own TETWP™ campaigns, spreading a message of hope and support that reaches beyond the rodeo arena to competitors, families and fans across America. For more information on how to help, visit www.toughenoughtowearpink.com.
Top Five TETWP™ Rodeo Events as of Oct. 1, 2007
Calgary Stampede $574,000
Cattleman’s Days Rodeo $70,000
Snake River Stampede $60,000
Auburn Wild West Stampede $54,350
Florida Gateway ProRodeo $50,000
About the Wrangler® National Finals Rodeo
For the fourth consecutive year, TETWP Night will return to the Wrangler NFR this year. On Wednesday, December 12, the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas will once again be saturated in a sea of pink as the world’s best professional rodeo riders prove they’re not only tough – they’re tough enough to wear pink. In addition to the national sponsorship of Wrangler, this year’s sponsors include: Justin Boots®, Las Vegas Events, Montana Silversmiths®, Chambers Belt Company, Resistol®, Professional’s Choice®, Wincore Windows and Windows LLC, Wahl®, Logan Coach, Priefert Ranch Equipment, Weaver Leather®, and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association® (PRCA).
The Wrangler NFR is the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s championship event and the world’s richest and most prestigious rodeo. Showcasing ProRodeo’s 15 top contestants in seven events, the 2007 Wrangler NFR takes place Dec. 6 – Dec. 15 in Las Vegas. One of the toughest tickets in sports to obtain, the Wrangler NFR has had sold out attendance for more than 200 straight performances, setting an overall,
10-day attendance record of 176,625. The national championship of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), the Wrangler NFR concludes with crowning of the sport’s nine World Champions; they are determined by official seasonal earnings. Visit www.prorodeo.com and www.nfrexperience.com for more information.
About Wrangler®
Wrangler is proud to be the national sponsor of the TETWP™ campaign. Wrangler Western Wear is available at over 2,500 western specialty, mid-tier and workwear stores nationwide that provide quality men’s and women’s apparel and accessories. For more information regarding the Wrangler family of products or to locate the Wrangler retailer nearest you, visit www.wrangler.com or call 1.888.784.8571.
VF Corporation is a leader in branded lifestyle apparel including jeanswear, outdoor products, image apparel and sportswear. Its principal brands include Wrangler, Lee, Riders, The North Face, Vans, Reef, Napapijri, Kipling, Nautica, 7 For All Mankind, John Varvatos, JanSport, lucy, Eastpak, Eagle Creek, Lee Sport, Majestic and Red Kap.
VF Corporation's press releases, annual report and other information can be accessed through the Company's home page, www.vfc.com.
*For campaign information contact Katie Wheatley at katie@toughenoughtowearpink.com.
*For images or interview requests contact Jenny Dubberly at 919.277.1161 or jdubberly@fwv-us.com.
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