In October, we marked Breast Cancer Awareness month – an international health campaign to increase awareness and raise funds for breast cancer research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and a cure.
At Kinross, we launched a global campaign to support breast cancer awareness month by hosting ‘Pink Day’ at each of our operations, projects and regional offices over the course of the month.
Check out how each of our global teams celebrated Pink Day below!
Alaska
In Alaska, Fort Knox employees took part in a week filled with awareness activities and information sessions on breast cancer awareness for men and women. The team also enjoyed a ‘pink-themed’ breakfast and even swapped out their orange ‘high-vis’ vests for pink ones!
In partnership with employees from Manh Choh, Fort Knox led a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Detection Centre of Alaksa (BCDC) to create silent auction baskets – one even going for over $800! The team also donated to the BCDC’s new mobile mammogram truck that will provide free mammograms to low-income areas and villages with underserved medical resources.
Finally, the team welcomed seven members of the community who have been affected by breast cancer to a special ‘Pink Day blast’ where the daily scheduled blast was coloured with pink powder.
Bald Mountain, Nevada
At Bald Mountain, employees celebrated Pink Day by wearing pink articles of clothing with $1 being donated to a local cancer organization for every pink garment.
Leadership also committed to wearing pink on each field engagement day for the month of October to continue driving home the importance of breast cancer awareness. However, that was not their only reminder in the field – employees also came together to paint a shovel bucket pink to maintain the importance of awareness throughout the year!
Round Mountain, Nevada
At Round Mountain, employees were gifted with decorations, stickers and bracelets creating a site-wide ‘pink-out.’ Once pink had taken over the mine site, over 75 employees volunteered to make a human ‘pink ribbon,’ the official breast cancer awareness logo, and a drone took an impressive photo with the mine site in the background.
Kettle River Operations, Washington State
At Kettle River, Pink Day kicked off with an awareness breakfast for all employees where they received their pink shirts and had the opportunity to hear helpful information about breast cancer awareness.
For the remainder of the week, Kettle River partnered with the local hospital to hand out free coffee at local coffee shops in exchange for sharing breast cancer awareness information. The team continues to work with the hospital to bring a mobile imaging van to the community for mammograms, and is working to set up a charitable fund to cover the cost of mammograms for those in need.
Toronto, Canada
At our Corporate headquarters in Toronto, employees had the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to be entered to win a gift basket with prizes donated from our social committee, IT and communications teams. All proceeds from the raffle tickets will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Our staff lounge was also decorated pink for the month of October, and on Pink Day, employees received a t-shirt and pink ribbon to wear to show their support.
Chile
In Chile, the team created a month long campaign titled ‘Your Life is in Your Hands’ to motivate employees to reflect on the importance of early detection in order to increase the chances of successful treatment.
The campaign consisted of educational videos, including a first-hand testimonial from an employee who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, in-person and online seminars with the Deputy Medical Director from the San José del Carmen Hospital in Copiapó, and stories and testimonials on the site’s internal radio network and social media accounts.
In honour of Pink Day, Kinross Chile created a commemorative logo for the month of October with the breast cancer awareness ribbon in the back, and provided employees with pins, ribbons, pink t-shirts, hard hat stickers and even soccer balls to promote breast cancer awareness.
Paracatu, Brazil
In Paracatu, employees attended a ‘Pink Day’ lunch in the staff lounge that was decorated in pink with pamphlets, posters and other promotional materials about breast cancer awareness.
Employees and their families then attended a ‘Sou + Saúde,’ which translates to ‘I am health,’ that focused on the importance of mental, physical and financial health. The event included a full day of activities, food and drinks, and special presentations about the importance of prioritizing your health, in particular with breast cancer.
Tasiast, Mauritania
At Tasiast, Pink Day began with speeches from Claude Schimper, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Brahim M’Bareck, President of Tasiast, and representatives from the Ministry of Health and the Director General of Mauritanian Investment Promotion Agency. Employees then watched a short film from the National Oncology Centre in Nouakchott about breast cancer awareness. Attendees then received a certificate for their participation in the presentation.
The presentation was also given to over 50 women in the Dawas community who, at the end, were gifted with pink veils that were purchased by the Company from the local women’s cooperative.
Las Palmas, Spain
In Las Palmas, an educational session was hosted by two experts from the Canary Association for Breast and Gynecologist Cancer who spoke to employees about the importance of early diagnostics for men and women. Kinross then provided a $2,000 donation to the non-profit association to improve the quality of life for women and their families impacted by breast cancer.
Thank you to all employees who participated in Pink Day across our global operations!
