The Uncoaler at Glencore’s Collinsville Open Cut Mine is now pretty in pink, an everyday reminder of the importance of breast cancer awareness.
Alice Randell is the Safety Systems and Compliance Coordinator at Glencore’s Collinsville Open Cut Mine and for the last two years has been fundraising for breast cancer.
It all started in 2023 when Alice was looking for a new way to mark International Women’s Day (IWD).
“I wanted to do something to recognise IWD that was community based, but also promoted a healthy lifestyle. So many events are based around lunches or dinners or are formal networking events,” Alice said.
“I was looking for something where people could come together in a relaxed and fun environment that encouraged them to be active. That’s when I decided to organise for Collinsville to join other communities around Queensland and participate in ‘Sea of Pink’, which ticked all the boxes and allowed us to fundraise.”
‘Sea of Pink is a fun run held in Brisbane and also offered as a ‘virtual’ event, allowing dozens of communities across Queensland to join in and run, jog or walk to raise money for the Mater Foundation.
Fifty-five women are diagnosed with breast cancer every day in Australia and all the funds raised go towards life-saving research to better understand and treat breast cancer.
Due to the success of the event in 2023, Alice organised it again this year, with an even bigger turnout.
“This year we had over 80 people participate… and five dogs! Local businesses got involved and we had the Collinsville QCWA cooking up a storm at the finish. The support from the entire community has been overwhelming.”
In addition to the fundraising made from the event, Collinsville Open Cut covered the cost of pink high-vis shirts which employees and contractors then purchased, bringing the total of this year’s fundraising to a whopping $15,319.
Alice said that while the fundraising results have been fantastic and well above what they hoped, there’s also another positive outcome which is the increase in important conversations around breast cancer over the last two years.
“Working in a male dominated industry, you just don’t have a dialogue around breast cancer, so being able to open up conversations and make people feel comfortable so they can share their stories is definitely something I am proud to have been a part of.
“To cap that off and have our Uncoaler painted pink in a recent refurbishment, so every single day we will be encouraged to keep those conversations going.
“I have to thank everyone who donated, supported and participated over the last two years and I’m already planning for next year!”
