Members of our BRIGHT Run community were thrilled to attend the dedication of a pink bench honouring the BRIGHT Run at the CIBC Breast Assessment Centre in May.
The Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation (HHSF) honoured the BRIGHT Run in May by unveiling a bright pink bench with a commemorative plaque.
“A plaque on a wall is important; it marks a moment, it records an achievement,” event chair Nancy McMillan said at the ceremony. “But a bench, especially one placed in a public, highly visible space, does something more. It becomes part of everyday life.”
Nancy continued: “People sit on it. They pause. They reflect. Conversations happen around it. It invites connection,” she said. “In that way, this bench is a perfect symbol of the BRIGHT Run community. It represents not just what has been accomplished, but the spirit in which it was done—together, in the open, for everyone to see and benefit from.”
The bench, outside the CIBC Breast Assessment Centre, recognizes the combined efforts of BRIGHT Run participants, volunteers and community partners in raising more than $6.6 million since the first event in 2008.
BRIGHT Run has funded 24 local breast cancer research projects, as well as partnering with McMaster University to create a permanent breast cancer research position at the university. BRIGHT Run also partnered with the Toronto-based Jesin Neuberger Foundation to establish the PYNK program at the Juravinski Cancer Centre. That program aims to meet the unique issues and concerns of patients under the age of 40 who are diagnosed with breast cancer.
Nancy continued: “People sit on it. They pause. They reflect. Conversations happen around it. It invites connection,” she said. “In that way, this bench is a perfect symbol of the BRIGHT Run community. It represents not just what has been accomplished, but the spirit in which it was done—together, in the open, for everyone to see and benefit from.”
Anissa Hilborn, HHSF’s chief executive officer, noted the remarkable achievements of the BRIGHT Run. “When $6.6 million is raised entirely by volunteers, one step at a time, you realize there is nothing a community can’t do when it works together to achieve a shared goal.”
