Golfers and stitchers work to pin down breast cancer

With the use of needles and pins, needlework aficionados and avid golfers in Sun City Hilton Head raised more than $24,000 at the 12th annual Rally for the Cure of Breast Cancer.

The Headliners played for 304 dance attendees. The nine-hole golf tournament brought out more than 150 golfers with nearly 270 people attending the luncheon that followed. These events were hosted by the Women's 9-Hole Golf Association.

The community's Sew What Club partnered with the golf group's efforts by hosting a display of "Artfull Bras."These colorful and imaginative versions of the undergarment were created by the Quilters of South Carolina. The exhibit is currently on tour throughout the state.

The quilters group also raised funds by creating memorial quilts. Sun City residents gave a small donation and provided the names of loved ones touched by cancer, and club members embroidered the names into squares. The quilts will be on display in various sites around Sun City.

The Tree of Hope was set up for both the dance and the luncheon and decorated with beautiful pink-and-white stars, also made by members of both clubs. Donors purchased the decorations and replaced them with paper tags on which the names of loved ones affected by cancer were written.

Between the quilts, the exhibit and the sale of exquisite handmade items at the club's weekend boutique sale, the Sew What Club raised more than $4,000.

Dr. Frederick G. Weniger, MD, of Weniger Plastic Surgery in Bluffton and Beaufort, was the guest speaker at the luncheon and gave a presentation on breast reconstruction after mastectomies. The surgeon also donated $1,000 to the fundraising efforts.

Silent auctions conducted at both the dance and the luncheon let attendeesbid on rounds of golf at local courses, collections of games, movies, fine arts, spa accessories and baskets full of "pink" things. Many of the items stuffed into baskets, bags and boxes came from generous local businesses as well as Sun City residents and club members. In addition, more than 60 businesses and individuals sponsored holes on the golf course. All of the proceeds go to Susan G. Komen Rallyfor the Cure, a fundraising effort that has turned into a global movement to fight breast cancer in women and men.