Rubber cancer bracelets: a small, big gesture
For you it could only be a few dollars, but the money you pay
for every rubber cancer bracelet goes towards the noble cause of
cancer research.
What prompted ace cyclist Lance Armstrong to hit upon the idea
to use rubber cancer bracelets to fund cancer research? No one
knows. But the signature yellow rubber cancer bracelets worn by
the seven-time Tour de Force champion and cancer survivor
quickly caught on as a common fundraising tool. And young people
soon turned wearing them -- in all colors and with all kinds of
messages stamped on them -- into a trend.
The rubber wristbands have been around for decades as 'baller
bands' -- worn by basketball players because of restrictions
against metal jewelry. But the trend really caught on with
Armstrong's cancer bracelets.
The Lance Armstrong Foundation says that more than 52 million
'LiveStrong' bracelets have been sold already! But millions of
other rubber cancer bracelets have also been sold. And that is
without counting the millions, maybe billions, of all other
kinds of rubber wristbands that have been sold or are being sold
all over the world -- rubber bracelets for tsunami relief, for
showing support to American troops, for just about anything, and
nothing! In fact, they are now the coolest thing that anyone can
sport on one's wrists. Though called rubber bracelets, these are
actually made of synthetic rubber, or silicone gel.
When you buy a LiveStrong rubber cancer bracelet, $1 from its
proceeds is donated to the Lance Armstrong Cancer Foundation!
That is, $52 million has been raised for cancer research
already! The LiveStrong rubber cancer bracelets are made by
sportswear major Nike. Cancer is 1the second largest cause of
death in the United States and one out of four deaths will come
from cancer
Now you have a different color rubber cancer bracelet for
different types of cancers. In terms of popularity, after the
yellow rubber cancer bracelets come the pink ones. The pink
rubber cancer bracelets are worn as a show of support for breast
cancer patients. There are still more colors of bracelets for
colon cancers, prostrate cancers, and so on. But it is well nigh
impossible to do a color-coding chart for the rubber cancer
bracelets and the types of cancers they represent. Simply
because so many of them are being brought out by different
organizations across the world.
There are people who take wearing their rubber cancer bracelets
seriously, and there are those who hate the sight of them. But
it can't be disputed that these rubber wristbands have brought
charity into the life of the common man. They have also
succeeded in bringing some of the bitter realities of existence
-- as well as joys - into the plane of society's consciousness
like never before.
About the author:
Shannan Barrett looks at how those rubber cancer bracelets have changed
society's attitude towards the unfortunate people who develop
the disease. Learn more about rubber cancer bracelets at
http://www.a1-awareness-bracelets.com/rubber-cancer-bracelet.html