Dress project raises funds for cancer research
Parkland teen uses her marketing and fashion design talents to help battle breast cancer.

By C. Ron Allen
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

For three years, Katelyn Pankoke watched as her mother quietly battled breast cancer.

"It was very hard," said Pankoke, a 17-year-old senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. "My mom is like a saint. She did such a good job hiding the pain, she didn't let me see her cry and she never let me see her in pain."

Pankoke was 6 when her mother, who has been cancer free for a decade, got sick.

The Parkland teen is designing a dress decorated with pink breast cancer ribbons that she plans to auction as a way to raise money and awareness of the disease. She fine-tuned her fashion design talents at a six-week program in Syracuse, N.Y., this summer.

She sold ribbons, bearing the name of someone affected by breast cancer, for $1 or more. There were two colors: light pink ribbons represent breast cancer survivors; dark pink ones honor those who have died, Pankoke said.

The placement of the ribbons on the fabric of the dress is random, signifying the random manner in which breast cancer strikes, she said.

She sold 165 ribbons and raised $1,270.50 in two months at a local craft fair and on her Web site at www.DesignsForCharity.com.

Pankoke recently presented the money to officials at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in New York City.

"The donations I received were unbelievable," said Pankoke, who recently was named a South Florida Sun-Sentinel Kid of Character for kindness in a program that recognizes students in the Broward County school system. "I was so happy. My goal was to raise $1,000 from the ribbon sale, and I raised it two months after I started the project."

The focal point of the dress is the sash or large breast cancer ribbon, which makes up the bodice and extends to the back of the dress, said her mother, Mary Pat Pankoke.

The ribbons will be attached to the sash, which will be attached to the dress.

A pink satin breast cancer ribbon will accent the back of the dress. Rose-colored pink satin pleats add the finish to the bottom of the dress.

"The sash is an integral part of the dress," Mary Pat Pankoke said, adding that it is a conversational piece whenever she shows it to people.

Once the Breast Cancer Ribbon Dress 2006 is done, Katelyn Pankoke plans to auction it and give the proceeds as well as any additional money from the ribbon sales to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

She chose that organization and its pink ribbon campaign because of its commitment to achieve prevention and find a cure for breast cancer. The organization spends at least 85 percent of all money raised for breast cancer research grants and awareness programs.

"They're not doing it for themselves," she said. "They're giving almost everything they raise to research. And not only will it benefit breast cancer, if a cure is found for breast cancer, who is to say that there won't be a cure for every other type of cancer?"

For more information on the Breast Cancer Ribbon Dress 2006, visit www.DesignsForCharity.com or write to P.O. Box 970069, Coconut Creek, FL., 33097 or call 954-254-7453.

This is one in a series of stories on students who best exemplify the Broward County School District's eight character education traits -- cooperation, responsibility, citizenship, kindness, respect, honesty, self-control and tolerance -- and patriotism as part of all eight.

C. Ron Allen can be reached at crallen@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7917.