Once again it is October, and breast cancer awareness is in full swing. Players in the NFL wear gloves, cleats, and hats all sporting the neon pink. Schools sell shirts and bracelets to push for “Pink Out” days. Families run and walk five K’s like Race for the Cure, also known as the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

How much money do companies donate to breast cancer awareness from the money they collect from sales? Year after yea,r people's purchases total thousands of dollars in the name of breast cancer awareness, but does any body know where it all goes? And another question we should all ask is “Can they be doing more than they are?”

Not to bash on companies like “Yoplait”  (the yogurt company) that are supporting breast cancer awareness, but are they really doing that much? Let's think about it here, and try and put it in perspective.

Annually, “Yoplait” holds their “Save Lids to Save Lives” drive in which customers may save all of their Yoplait yogurt caps and send them into the company at the end of the month. After doing so the company will donate a certain amount of money to breast cancer awareness for each cap that is returned. Taking this for face value this sounds wonderful and no doubt worthy of some recognition. But check again.

Each cap returned is only worth 10 cents!  If each consumer were to eat three Yoplait yogurts a day for the month of October, that one person would raise less than $10 a day!

This may seem some but how many people will eat, and can afford, three yogurts a day for an entire month?  When Giant has its sales, even at "10 for $10," it would cost the consumer at ten times more than the $10 (yes, about $100) to raise that $10.  It is very unrealistic, and, in reality, “Yoplait” is probably making a great deal more money. Just because their lids are pink, people think “Yoplait” will be making big contributions towards breast cancer awareness.

With all of this being said however, is there a difference between supporting breast cancer awareness and promoting breast cancer awareness? I believe they are one and the same when it comes to a matter of this severity. Just putting a pink strip on the label of a water bottle is hardly supporting breast cancer awareness, much less promoting breast cancer awareness.

Is it wrong? Should it stop? Should something be done? I think so. The whole idea of breast cancer awareness month is great and should be supported, but it should not be used and taken advantage of like some of these companies have done. If they are going to support and promote breast cancer awareness, they should do it for the cause, not the money. Is that too much to ask? Probably.