9 questions with The Student Pink Zone president Courtney Buckel
Thinking pink starts early.
Courtney Buckel is a junior at Penn State and the president of The Student Pink Zone, which last year raised a record-breaking $26,257.37 for groups like the Mount Nittany Medical Center, the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute and the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.
Buckel and the group’s nearly 30 active members hold fundraisers year-round, including the inaugural Morgan Stanley Pink Zone 1-Mile Run/Walk that was launched last April.
Find out how you can contribute below.
Q: What motivated you to get involved with the group?
A: When I was in high school I was involved in a similar organization called “Women in Motion.” I joined the group because it was one of the few clubs available at my school. After getting involved with it, I realized how amazing the cause was and became very passionate about it. It was natural for me to find a group on campus that would align with that passion.
Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of the experience for you?
A: Since joining the group, I have had the opportunity to meet numerous individuals who are either fighting breast cancer or are survivors. The first thing that every single one of those women have said to our organization or me specifically has been, “Thank you.” It has not only been rewarding to meet these people and hear their gratitude for our organization, but the mere fact that we have been able to make an impact in their lives has been the most rewarding part by far.
Q: How many fundraisers per year does The Student Pink Zone typically hold? Do you have a personal favorite?
A: We usually try to hold 10 fundraisers or so each semester. These fundraisers come in a variety of different forms, including bake sales, downtown food fundraisers, silent auctions and more. My personal favorite was our mile run last year, which has been scheduled again for this year. The Morgan Stanley Pink Zone 1-Mile Run/Walk was held last April and we had about 200 participants that ran from Pegula Ice Arena to the HUB. The reason it is my favorite is because I was on the board that helped make it happen, and it was so successful that we have decided to make it an annual event. Everyone seemed to enjoy their experience, and it was wonderful to see our hard work pay off.
Q: How do you coordinate with the Pennsylvania Pink Zone throughout the year?
A: Our coordination with the Pennsylvania Pink Zone occurs mostly through the executive director, Miriam Powell. I am in constant communication with her, and she is always willing to help with whatever we need. Our organization volunteers for events with them and they try to help us with as many events as possible, whether it is through the actual planning or simply participating.
Q: Why do you think that it is important for students to get involved and have a voice when it comes to something like this?
A: I think that when it comes to philanthropy and fighting a disease in general, it is important for students to be involved because, one, it helps others and, two, it provides fulfillment in their lives. Our focus today has become so much on improving ourselves and making a better life for ourselves, it is important to step back and realize that you can make a difference. Will everyone choose to make that difference with the Pink Zone? No. And that’s OK. We need students to be involved in organizations across the board in order to make the world we live in a better place.
Q: Last year, you guys donated a record-breaking $26,257.37. Was there a lot of pressure to try and top that this year?
A: Yes and no. There is not really any external pressure to top our total, but internally we have put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Multiple members of this year’s executive board, myself included, were on the board last year when we reached that total. We have placed this pressure on ourselves because we believe we can build on what we achieved last year and continue breaking that record year after year. However, we also realize that that is a very high number to beat, and we will be proud of any amount that we raise because we know that it is going to such a wonderful cause.
Q: What was the new fundraising goal, and did you do anything differently to try and attain it?
A: Our fundraising goal for the year is $30,000. Our biggest change has been a greater focus on varying our fundraisers. We have added bake sales this year, as well as a multitude of new food fundraisers including Sheetz coupon books and Gardners Candies. We want to bring in new donors, and we believed that adding these new sales would be a good way to reach them.
Q: How do you hope to continue to see The Student Pink Zone Organization grow and evolve?
A: When you look at our organization, you see that passion is not something that is lacking among us. Each individual is excited to be involved and serious about the cause. That being said, we are not a large organization. My goal for our growth is to reach out to more people on campus and get them involved with us. I believe that there are more people interested in being involved in the cause, but are unaware that we exist. I hope that in years we are able to get our name out there more and grow in numbers to make an even greater impact.
Q: Where can people go to make donations or find out more about your fundraisers?
A: There are two important places to learn more about us and to make donations. Clubs.psu.edu/up/pinkzone is our official website, which has a link to donate on it. We also keep it updated with our upcoming events. We also have a Facebook page where we post all of our fundraisers. That can be found at https://www.facebook.com/psupinkzone/.
This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 2:23 PM with the headline "9 questions with The Student Pink Zone president Courtney Buckel."