The Ooh La La Salon & Spa is teaming up with neighboring Koryu Fitness to hold a garage and bake sale this week to raise money for the battle against breast cancer.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the two businesses have collected hundreds of items and whipped up baked goods to sell from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday in their parking lot at 415 Cape Coral Parkway W.
According to Peggy Newlan, owner of Ooh La La Salon & Spa, the community has answered the call for donations.
“With the economy the way it is, it’s hard to ask people to donate,” she said. “But, everybody has stuff, and we thought it would be great for our clients to donate and make money that way.”
Both employees and customers have donated enough items to fill Newlan’s three-car garage.
“It has been a little ripple effect, everyone has told their friends,” she said.
After Saturday’s sale, the businesses will participate Oct. 17 in Making Strides for Breast Cancer, a 5K at Centennial Park in downtown Fort Myers.
Ooh La La Salon & Spa has raised money for breast cancer three other times in the past. It hosted a gathering of vendors at the Shops at Surfside and two others at the Saturn dealership.
Donations for the sale will be accepted this week. Newlan said last-minute donors can bring items Saturday as early as 6 a.m. when organizers are setting up.
Communities across the United States have celebrated National Breast Cancer Awareness Month for the last 25 years. The American Cancer Society estimated that 192,370 women and 1,910 men were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2008.
The ACS also estimated that 40,170 women and 440 men will likely die from breast cancer this year.
The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Web site is set up to promote the issue in the month of October, but also serves as a resource for women year-round. For more information, visit: www.nbcam.org.