Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative’s buildings, vehicles and employees will be decked out in gold during September for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. When the calendar turns to October, gold will give way to pink to put the focus on National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This is the second year Bluebonnet has celebrated Childhood Cancer Awareness Month by illuminating its buildings in gold light, decorating its vehicles with gold decals and handing out gold ribbon pins and temporary tattoos to members. Employees are handing out gold rubber bracelets that say “Because kids can’t fight cancer alone.”

Since October 2012, Bluebonnet has bathed its member service centers in pink light, added pink ribbon decals to its trucks, handed out pink ribbon pins in the communities it serves, replaced its familiar blue-and-white hard hats with pink ones, and donned pink T-shirts to remind everyone of the ongoing effort to raise funds to support prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Informational handouts and paper pink ribbons with flower seeds embedded in them will be handed out at its five member service centers in Bastrop, Brenham, Giddings, Lockhart and Manor.

“It’s true, no one can fight cancer alone,” said Matt Bentke, Bluebonnet’s general manger. “Bluebonnet is pleased to be part of the team that’s raising awareness for these two forms of cancer that affect so many, including people we know – friends, family, neighbors and coworkers. We hope the small gestures we do in September and October contribute to the greater cause of finding the cure for childhood and breast cancer.”

National nonprofits with helpful information about childhood cancer include the American Childhood Cancer Organization, www.acco.org, the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org, the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, https://nationalpcf.org, or the nearest Ronald McDonald house in your region, www.rmhc.org.

There are many resources available to learn more about breast cancer. For more information, visit the National Cancer Institute’s website at cancer.gov, the American Cancer Society at cancer.org, the American Childhood Cancer Organization at acco.org, CURE Childhood Cancer at curechildhoodcancer.org, or the Susan G. Komen Foundation at komen.org.