Staff members at PS 274 in Brooklyn have raised money for Bushwick Cares thanks to the efforts of school psychologist Jeannette Aquino (front, with cape).
In the month of October, pink isn’t just another color; it’s a symbol of awareness about breast cancer, which affects 1 in 8 women during their lifetime.
On or around Wednesday, Oct. 17, UFT members across the city wore pink to their schools to pay tribute to lost loved ones, honor survivors and celebrate their commitment to fighting for a cure.
“This is for all my ‘sisters’ and all my UFT family dealing with this disease,” said Alan Nuñez, a music teacher at the Academy of the City Charter School, a UFT-represented charter school in Woodside, Queens. Nuñez, who displayed his pink sneakers in a photo alongside his guitar, works with Camp Bravehearts, a camp for women dealing with cancer.
The day took on new meaning for the guidance department of Francis Lewis HS in Fresh Meadows, Queens, where counselors gathered as a group to show support to a colleague who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
June McKeiver, a paraprofessional at PS 146 in East Harlem, and Lorin Barnes, a math teacher at MS 224 in East Harlem, saw the same doctor during their treatment and took a picture to celebrate that they are now both cancer-free.
“We are survivors,” said Barnes.