Savannahians fundraise in lingerie

A parade of men and women marched throughout downtown from bar to bar, all sporting hot pink bras — some stuffed — Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. for the second annual Bra Crawl for the Cure, a fundraiser started by the radio group Y107.9 for the Susan G. Komen organization.

The event started in city market at the Wild Wings Cafe with an eyeful of glittering bras and hot pink shirts crowded around a sign up table for the event. Y107.9 sold shirts, bras and raffle tickets for door prizes and two grand prizes.

The event commenced at the cafe, then moved to the Seed Eco Lounge, followed by the Warehouse, Saddlebags and ending at Savannah Smiles. 

People purchased VIP tickets, which sold out before the event, to secure a seat on the trolley donated by Savannah Tours for those who wanted to opt out of walking. 

Along the way, a tip jar fastened with a pink lacy bra reading “Tips for Ta-Ta’s” aided in collecting money for the organization from the downtown public.

At the Seed Eco Lounge, pink coozies and party beads were available for the crowd. Armstrong freshmen Laurie Livings made a point to bring her brother along. 

“I was driving home from Armstrong, and I was listening to 107.9, and they told me, and I thought, ‘Oh my God. I’ve got to text my brother,’ and boom here we are.”

“I immediately went out and got myself a pink bra, and we rushed downtown,” Michael Livings said.

Laurie Livings attended a breast cancer awareness pub crawl in St. Louis.

“We didn’t get to wear our bras on the outside, and this is way more fun,” she said.

The fun didn’t stop there. 

Before the walk to the next bar, Bra Crawl organizer Brad Wells started the door prize raffle and continued them throughout the night before the group left for each bar. The prizes ranged from gift certificates to Harley Davidson to $20 gift cards for Halloween costumes at Spirit.

The next stop for the Bra Crawl was the Warehouse on River Street where the group could enjoy good food, a round of pool and the coldest beer in town.

After the door prize raffle was announced and the Trolley scuttled away, the group walked to the next bar featured for the event, Saddlebags.

For Dennis Whitmyer, who heard about the event from his wife, a 13-year breast cancer survivor, supporting these events is a big deal for him. 

“Susan G. Komen is the primary organization we contribute to, but at work, I do some other organizations, and every Friday, they have a casual day where you pay $5 that goes to a charity they choose from.”

Marley Jergen and Jill Royal, both who have had family members pass away from cancer, hope for more support for breast cancer awareness.

Royal, a nurse at Memorial Hospital, wishes more people within the community, especially the college campus, will learn about these fundraisers and support them.

“My grandmothers both had breast cancer, so I’m very passionate about breast cancer awareness and supporting that effort. So here we are wearing bras on the outside, having fun, and hopefully, we’ll increase awareness in the community.” 

For the Bra Crawl community, that goal was reinforced when arriving to the final destination at Savannah Smiles Dueling Piano Bar, where the night wound down with the final raffle of a new Coach purse and a $1,000 gift card to Levi Jeweler’s. The three women in the group who battled in the fight against breast cancer received a standing ovation to the three women in the group who battled in the fight against breast cancer.

As the organizer and 107.9 program director, Brad Wells was excited about the turn out and glad more awareness was spread.

“The environment is fun. Everybody had a great time. Nobody has a problem giving money to a great cause, and everybody really liked being able to win prizes,” he said. “We had so many local businesses donate door prizes, so people still felt like they were getting something, even though they were here to give to the fundraiser.”

Over 85 people came to support the Bra Crawl for the Cure and a rough tally put the funds raised at $1,700. Additional donations can be given at the Susan G. Komen website: ww5.komen.org/donate/donate.html  

Be the first to comment on this article!

Click here to leave a comment

Share and Enjoy