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Orangeville turning into ‘Pinkville’ for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 1, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Joshua Drakes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Orangeville is preparing to turn into “Pinkville” this October as businesses, schools, and residents come together for a month-long campaign supporting breast cancer research and awareness.

The Pinkville campaign is being spearheaded by Orangeville resident and breast cancer survivor Charlene Judge, a member of the Board of Directors for Breast Cancer Canada and the community’s Pinkville ambassador.

The initiative will bring together several existing local fundraisers while encouraging businesses throughout Orangeville to decorate their storefronts in pink, raise funds and help spread awareness during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Judge developed the idea earlier this year with the hope of creating a model that could eventually be adopted by other communities across Canada.

“As a board member, I really had a vision that we could take Orangeville and change Orangeville to Pinkville and then potentially challenge other towns and communities to do this kind of fundraising and make a national change in the way that we are doing it,” she said.

“I pitched the idea to my board of directors at Breast Cancer Canada, and I challenged my peer board members across the country to do the same thing because I knew that Orangeville would be supportive of this, just because of my past experience in doing fundraising when I was going through my chemo journey.”

Pinkville officially kicks off today (Oct. 1) with Orangeville Mayor Lisa Post proclaiming Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Breast Cancer Canada flag being raised at town hall, where it will remain throughout October.

The campaign continues Oct. 3 with the fourth annual Team Marathon Row at Headwaters Fitness and Racquet Club. Approximately 50 participants are expected to take part in teams, collectively rowing the 42-kilometre marathon distance on stationary rowing machines. The event will also feature a silent auction, 50/50 draw and raffle prizes donated by local businesses.

Local businesses are also getting involved through fundraising initiatives and pink storefront displays. Judge said the response from business owners has demonstrated how many people in the community have been personally affected by breast cancer.

“It was very powerful and it was very emotional because I heard a lot of stories along the way about people’s wives, mothers, sisters, aunts who had either succumbed to breast cancer, or had a positive outcome like I did,” she said. “Having that in your community is pretty powerful, and to have people be that vulnerable to tell their stories is nothing short of amazing.”

The month will conclude with Westside Secondary School’s annual Day of Pink on Oct. 30, including its pancake breakfast, with proceeds from the various Pinkville initiatives supporting Breast Cancer Canada.

For Judge, the campaign is personal. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 despite having no signs or symptoms, with the cancer instead detected through a routine mammogram. Her mother is also a four-time breast cancer survivor.

Judge said success will ultimately be measured not only by money raised, but by the awareness created throughout the community.

“Raising money and building awareness are super important… so that people don’t forget about this cause, and particularly women, don’t forget to go and have their mammogram,” she said. “Early diagnosis is key. When I was diagnosed in 2020, I had no signs, no symptoms. It was caught through a mammogram, and it wasn’t there in 2019. So it was a very aggressive form of cancer. And had I not gone for my annual mammogram, we might not be sitting here today having this conversation.”

Pinkville is set to be a first in Canada — an entire community united as one to fight breast cancer, raise money and spread awareness.

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