Bras for a Cause: Laughter, Creativity and a Serious Mission

There are not many fundraisers where you can walk into a room and find a bra wearing bat wings, another covered in seashells and pearls, one sporting leopard print and roses, and another transformed into what may be the most fashionable set of tires ever seen in Del Norte County.

But that was exactly the point of Bras for a Cause, hosted by the local Soroptimist International club in support of women facing breast cancer.

Approximately 146 women — and four brave men — gathered for an evening that managed to be elegant, funny, touching and deeply meaningful all at the same time. There was wine, charcuterie, conversation and laughter, but throughout the room were reminders of why everyone had come together.

And then there were the bras.

They were everywhere, and no two were remotely alike. One creation looked ready for Halloween, complete with bats, black-and-white candy and gothic touches. Another appeared to have been visited by a very stylish ghost, draped in white with orange spiders crawling across the cups. A sparkling black creation sprouted fairy wings and sat among books for readers. Another celebrated the coast with seashells, pearls and fishing-net details.

There was a patriotic “Miss American Pie,” complete with red, white and blue lights and actual pie slices strategically placed where no pie slices have probably ever gone before. Del Norte Tire created “Ruby Tread,” turning tires into a bra that somehow managed to make auto repair look glamorous. One creation featured lettuce, cherries and health products, while another was decorated for tsunami preparedness — proof that on the North Coast, even a bra can remind you to know your evacuation route.

There were feathers, sequins, flowers, ribbons, chocolates and enough imagination to make a department-store lingerie section look downright boring.

But underneath all that humor was the unmistakable message of the evening: women supporting women.

Guests circulated around the room carrying raffle tickets and deciding which decorated bra displays deserved their votes. The creations represented local businesses, organizations and individuals, many of whom paired their bras with donated gifts and prize packages. The result was part art show, part fundraiser and part celebration of the creativity women can bring to even the most difficult subjects.

Breast cancer, however, was never far from anyone’s mind.

Information and resources were available from local health-care providers, including Sutter Coast and Open Door/Del Norte Community Health Center, with materials addressing breast cancer signs and symptoms, mammography services, infusion services and other resources available to patients. Amid the laughter and pink decorations was practical information that could potentially save a life.

The emotional heart of the evening came after the bidding, when Susan Daughtery shared the story of a woman named Jeanine, who came to Crescent City for cancer treatment.

At the beginning of Jeanine’s treatments, Soroptimist members presented her with a check so she could afford to stay overnight in Crescent City rather than face the additional burden of traveling back and forth while undergoing treatment. When Jeanine received the check, she cried — tears of overwhelming relief, gratitude and joy.

Jeanine later passed away.

For a few moments, the room that had been filled with laughter became quiet.

Her story illustrated exactly why events like Bras for a Cause matter. Cancer is measured medically in scans, treatments and test results, but for the person going through it, cancer also means gasoline, hotel rooms, meals, missed work, fear, exhaustion and the question of how to pay for everything while simply trying to survive.

Sometimes help comes in the form of medicine. Sometimes it comes in the form of a check handed to someone at precisely the moment she needs to know she is not facing the battle alone.

That is what the local Soroptimist club, led by President Linda Perry, along with Susan Daughtery and the many volunteers who organized the event, brought together that evening.

The night continued with door prizes, winning bra displays and plenty more laughter. Women examined the creations, compared favorites and celebrated the winners. Yet there was something larger taking place among those tables.

Breast cancer has touched mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, coworkers and neighbors. Almost everyone knows someone whose life has been changed by the disease. Bras for a Cause found a way to acknowledge that reality without allowing cancer to take possession of the room.

Instead, the room belonged to the women.

It belonged to the ridiculous bras, the beautiful bras, the elegant ones and the ones that made people stop and laugh out loud. It belonged to the women holding glasses of wine, buying raffle tickets, exchanging stories and remembering those who could no longer be there.

And perhaps that was the most fitting message of the evening.

Breast cancer is serious. Fighting it does not mean we have to surrender our laughter, our creativity, our friendships or our determination.

For one evening in Crescent City, bras became artwork, women became a community, and fundraising became something much bigger than raising money.

It became a reminder to keep fighting — and never give up