Members of parliament have done it, famous celebrities have done it, and now a Wellington based cricket enthusiast has done it all in the aid of breast cancer awareness.
October is the official month for Breast cancer awareness and one way to raise much needed funds is through getting your breasts plastered. Rebecca Barclay is one of the hundreds of women from around the country to do just that.
Barclay is part of the management team at Collegians Cricket Club in Wellington and is also involved with the Young Farmers’ Club in the city. It was the latter group who encouraged her to participate in the plastering for a worthy cause.
“We are rural women and we wanted to give something back to the rural communities,” Barclay said. “The whole idea was to do casts, then decorate them and auction them off.”
The thought of getting plastered in front of all her friends made Barclay nervous, however she knew it was for an excellent cause. “We became a lot closer. We put all our shyness aside for this great cause,” she said. “One in three women will be affected by Breast Cancer. It’s a sobering thought.”
The women have risen close to $2000 from their casts. A lot of support has also come from the cricket club. Barclay said it’s interesting being one of only two women on the management team for Collegians and she has been given a bit of stick for her plastering. “A lot of the guys didn’t know it was happening but then they saw me in the social pages of the paper!” she laughed. “They saw a completely different side of me.”
In her cricket role she overseas the development of women’s cricket and the sport is something she is passionate about. “Cricket brings all the different aspects of my life together,” she said. “We’ve got the best club in the world! We’ve managed to get more women involved with the game; it’s not a natural sport for girls.”
She hopes her plastering will help boost not only the awareness of Breast Cancer, but also the Young Farmers’ Club and women’s cricket.
