Good cause, controversial slogan

Posted Saturday, March 14, 2009 4:52 pm

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The women call themselves The Berkshire Babes, six friends who organized a team this year for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Boston May 16-17.

Some of them have walked with other teams in the past. One helped a nine-member team raise nearly $30,000 for the event two years ago, well above the $1,800 that Avon requests each team member to collect.

The women recently brainstormed to come up with new ideas to raise funds amid a slumping economy.

Kim Hamberg Wilder, 30, a real estate agent from Lenox, thought up a catchy, somewhat racy slogan for the event: Beer For Boobs.

"Catchy is what brings people to events, and we were looking to grab the attention of people who don't normally go to fundraising events," Wilder said.

They asked Moe's owner Josh Cohen if he'd be willing to host the event at his bar in Lee on Saturday. Cohen, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor, agreed, and pledged to donate a portion of the night's beer sales to the cause.

Moe's is known for its eclectic menu of microbrewed beers.

The Babes designed pink posters with their slogan: "Beer For Boobs: Drink good beer to benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer."

The text is enclosed inside a pint glass with a silhouette of a woman's breasts, complete with nipples.

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Dan Miraglia, 47, a Pittsfield carpenter, noticed the poster at George's Liquor Store on Elm Street Thursday.

'Totally tasteless'

Miraglia's mother was a breast cancer survivor.

"I thought it was totally tasteless," he said. "In my opinion, it is demeaning toward women and insensitive toward women who have dealt with breast cancer."

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Miraglia wondered if the event would involve a wet T-shirt contest or something even more tawdry. He called Avon officials yesterday to see if they condoned the poster, and a woman said the company urges its teams to raise awareness in a sensitive way.

"She told me she would look into it," Miraglia said.

Susan Heaney, director for communications for the Avon Foundation, said her organization hears concerns like this every year as teams attempt to be creative about a sensitive issue.

It seems to invoke a social experiment in what's acceptable when it comes to the female anatomy.

"Our walkers are empowered to raise funds in whatever creative ways they can," Heaney said. "Not to make fun of the situation, but to find uplifting moments in times of sadness. Some people might find the poster surprising, and some might be reminded to go get a mammogram. It's all subjective."

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Heaney said some women even walk in the event wearing fake plastic breasts.

The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is a two-day, 39-mile walking event that takes place in nine cities across the United States.

In Boston last year, more than 2,900 participated from 33 states, including 200 breast cancer survivors. More than $6.9 million was raised.

Miraglia thinks the walk "is a great cause," but the poster could've been designed "with a little more tact."

Response mostly positive

Wilder will be joined by Andrea Pignatelli, Adrienne Rynes, Jen Sweeney, Maureen Lee and Sharon Kennedy.

She said she "could see how some people might say the poster's a little racy," but the response has been mostly positive.

"Most fundraising events can be stuffy," she said. "We wanted to make this fun. We're trying to raise money for a good cause, and that's our ultimate goal."

To reach Benning W. De La Mater: bdelamater@berkshireeagle.com, (413) 496-6243.