Rita Fanning

Local breast cancer advocates have surpassed the 1,000-buyer threshold needed to establish a “pink ribbon” specialty license plate.

But Chattanooga advocates still hope more people will sign up to get the tags, which will benefit local cancer support groups, research and awareness efforts.

“I definitely would like to get more just to be on the safe side,” said RIta Fanning, director of Chattanooga’s Race for the Cure, the local 5K run that raises money for breast cancer research and awareness.

Tennessee state affiliates of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a nationwide network of breast-cancer survivors, need at least 1,000 buyers to sign up to buy the license plate in order for the state actually to produce the plate, advocates said. The deadline to sign up to buy a plate is Wednesday.

As of Monday night, the preliminary count of committed buyers from Nashville and Memphis was 1,005, said Becky Hamilton, special projects coordinator with the organization’s Nashville affiliate, which is spearheading the license-plate campaign.

The Chattanooga, Knoxville, Tri-Cities and Upper Cumberland affiliates have not yet submitted their totals, she said.

So far, the Chattanooga affiliate has collected 84 commitments, but “the more, the merrier,” Ms. Fanning said.

The organization’s six state affiliates will receive about 40 percent of the revenue from license plate sales, Ms. Fanning said. The money will go toward local screening, treatment and education programs, she said.

But spreading breast cancer awareness is the campaign’s main purpose, she said.

“We’re hoping people will see those license plates and say, ‘Oh gosh, I haven’t had a mammogram lately’ or ‘I need to do a breast self exam,’” Ms. Fanning said.

Breast cancer affects one in every eight women, and the disease kills more U.S. women than any cancer except lung cancer, according to MedlinePlus, a program of the National Institutes of Health.

The state produces specialty license plates for about 120 organizations or causes ranging from university alumni plates and Tennessee Walking Horse Association plates to memorial tags in honor of veterans and prisoners of war, according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

Organizations that want to establish a specialty license plate must contact a state legislator to sponsor the plate and introduce legislation in the General Assembly. After the legislation is passed, the group has one year to get 1,000 people to commit to purchasing the plates, according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

The deadline for the Susan G. Komen plates is June 30, but advocates need the order forms and a $35 check by Wednesday to tally the contributions and get the forms ready to be submitted, Ms. Hamilton said.

If approved, the tags will go into production around October and likely will be available by November or December, Ms. Hamilton said.

A $35 fee would be required annually to keep the specialty plate, and the fee is in addition to regular license plate renewal fees, which vary by county, organizers said.

Comments