All Oakley Police Officers are authorized, and encouraged, to wear their uniforms with our OPD pink patch (see attachment) affixed for the whole month of October. Additionally anybody may purchase our OPD pink patch at the front counter for $10.00 or an OPD POA coin for $25.00. All proceeds of the $10.00 patch go back to the Pink Patch Project foundation.
Chief Paul Beard encourages all to “Please take care of the women in our lives, no matter what role they play, to make sure their health is being taken care of.”
What is the Pink Patch Project?
Originating in 2013 with Seal Beach Police Department in Southern California who wore pink patches on their uniforms during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
In 2015, the Irwindale Police Department in California ran with the idea and sold their patches to the community, raising over $20,000 for one of the nation’s largest and most effective cancer centers, the City of Hope.
Chief Anthony Miranda took the idea to the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association and 25 local agencies came on board.
Today, the program has expanded to several hundred partner agencies throughout the world and includes partners from police, sheriff, fires, EMS and federal departments worldwide. These agencies have partnered together to combat breast cancer by raising public awareness and to raise funds for breast cancer research and treatment.
The program centers on vibrant pink versions of the public safety officer’s uniform patch. These bright pink patches have been specially designed by each participating agency specifically for the Pink Patch Project campaign. Officers of the Oakley Police Department will wear these pink patches on their regular uniforms for the entire month of October each year during “Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”
The pink patches are intended to stimulate conversation with the community and to encourage public awareness about the importance of early detection and the on-going fight against this disease.
The Pink Patch Project Goals
The Pink Patch Project is an innovative public awareness campaign designed to bring attention to the fight against breast cancer and to support breast cancer research organizations in combating this devastating disease.
It is estimated that approximately 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. The disease can have a profound impact on the patient and her loved ones. It is a disease however that can be effectively treated with surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy and chemotherapy.
At the Pink Patch Project, we have the simple goal of increasing awareness about the life-saving benefits of early detection and intervention in the fight against breast cancer. In addition to our public education efforts, we have the added goal of raising funds from the sale of Pink Patches to go directly to fund research, treatment and education needed to help find a cure.
The learn more about breast cancer, breast cancer symptoms, breast cancer risk factors and diagnosis, breast cancer research and breast cancer in men, go to https://www.cityofhope.org/clinical-program/breast/cancer
You can visit pinkpatchproject.com for more information and to see all participating agencies. https://pinkpatchproject.com/about/