You've seen the yellow bracelets on wrists around campus, and maybe even thought they were pretty cool. But they're more than just a neat rubber bracelet: the people wearing them are representing a good cause.
"I feel naked without mine on. It's really become a part of who I am," said Jody Chamberlind-Cook, a senior resident assistant in Mills.
The bracelets are a collaboration between Nike and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) in an effort to raise money for cancer research.
Chamberlind-Cook and her mother both started wearing their bracelets in early July during the American cyclist's bid at a record-setting sixth consecutive victory at the international competition, Tour de France. However, her bracelet has come to represent much more for her after recently losing a friend to cancer. "It's great to see people all over the gym wearing them," she said. No matter what someone's reason is for wearing the bracelet, it all goes to the same good cause.
The original goal of the effort was to sell six million bracelets at a dollar each. To date the LAF has reached 11 million quite effortlessly. The foundation sold 400,000 during the Tour de France itself.
Each bracelet is inscribed with "Live Strong." The saying is Armstrong's mantra. It describes how he and the foundation feel about a person's battle with cancer. When Nike approached the LAF with the idea, they also made a one million dollar cash donation to the cause.
Several stores in the Fox Run Mall, including Lady Foot Locker where Chamberlind-Cook got hers, are selling the bracelets, although now they are on backorder everywhere. Finish Line and Filene's also used to carry them.
"I'm so happy this has become a cool trend," said Katie Wilcox, a senior nursing major. Wilcox got her bracelet at the beginning of the summer at Finish Line. "Everyone asks me why I have it or where I got it," she said. "It's like the bracelet gives you this common ground with everyone."
Even though the bracelets have multiplied on campus, it's not simply a campus trend. "It's cool to see different age groups wearing them," points out Wilcox. Hollywood notables have started wearing them, including everyone from Tom Brokaw to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to John Kerry. Jay Leno even handed them out to his entire audience in July.
Livestrong bracelets have also started to make an impact in the athletics department. "Lance is such an amazing athlete and role model," said Heidi Anderson, a senior and captain of the field hockey team, who got her band from her sister. "The majority of my friends wear the bands," she said.
It's likely that a lot of the initial interest and sales may have stemmed from Armstrong's amazing sixth Tour victory. Since then, the cause has become more of the focus, not Lance himself.
Colleen Carbone, an administrative assistant in the women's basketball department, also wears one. "I bought the bracelet because it was a great cause," she said. "I think too many people are dying from cancer, and the more research to cure it the better."
Carbone recently lost an uncle to cancer and has a cousin battling it right now. "I basically wear it in memory of my uncle," she said. Carbone bought 20 bracelets and handed them all out to her family and friends who all now wear them. She also suggested that pink bracelets to benefit breast cancer might also be a worthwhile idea.
If you want to put your name on backorder for the bracelets, you can get them online in packs of 10 from the LAF Web site (www.laf.org), or stop by Footlocker or Finish Line at the Fox Run Mall. You'll be in good company.
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