The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Dressed in a fluffy white wig and an old-style dress, Donelda Allen has caught the attention of many Main Street shoppers as she's stood outside CIBC this week. "A lot of people thought I was supposed to be Mrs. Claus or the granny from the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons," she laughed. While Donelda's getup may have been comical, her reason for being there was anything but. She is hoping to raise awareness of breast cancer, which kills more Canadian women each year than any form of cancer. At the bank, Donelda has been displaying her collection of dolls, which she has been naming after people who have lost their mothers to the disease. "When it comes to kids losing their mothers, that really hits home," she said. "We need to keep up the awareness." Donelda stitched together all of the costumes worn by the dolls and hopes to eventually have 100 dolls in her collection. Her presence and doll display have prompted a number of people to make donations to CIBC for its upcoming Run for the Cure, a fundraiser for breast cancer research. Donelda encourages people to stop by the bank before October 5, the date of the Run for the Cure, to make a donation. Under the name F.L.O.H. Projects, Donelda has taken part in a number of fundraising initiatives for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. F.L.O.H. stands for For Love of Harmien (Harmien was the name of a friend of Donelda's who lost her life to cancer).
