Think Pink brings community together

By Katie Johnson

Isolation is difficult enough without the added stress of a breast cancer diagnosis.

So, for the Think Pink Living Centre at Yarra’s Edge—a foundation which provides support programs to those diagnosed with breast cancer—finding new ways to bring people together during lockdown was vital.

Chairman Ron Smith said that since Think Pink shifted its free support, exercise and wellness programs to Zoom, the response had been overwhelming.

“We’ve had women coming online from around Victoria and interstate because of the ease of participating in the current COVID-19 climate. In some cases, Think Pink’s activities numbers have tripled,” Mr Smith said.

“Our classes used to have seven or eight people for pilates, now there’s 30.”

Due to the dramatic increase in numbers, Think Pink is looking to get additional support to continue providing their free services to women all around Australia.

“Right now, we’re looking for sponsors and for people to make donations to help us maintain our services which you can do on our website,” Mr Smith said.

Aside from Think Pink’s Zoom activities, Mr Smith and his business partner Bob Winters have also developed a new bird watching app—Birds of the Bay—which was released on July 24.

The free app, which contains pictures of 120 birds along with descriptions and birdwatching tips, is designed to promote Docklands as a place to visit and encourage a wider appreciation of the environment.

“We thought it would be good to do something that lives in your phone that’s a conversation starter for people walking along the beach, or something to talk about with your friends, children or grandchildren,” Mr Smith said.

“It comes at a time when people are looking for things to do at home, and also to help people reconnect with nature, which is great for people’s mental health.”

An important feature of the app, which is being launched in partnership with Melbourne Star Wheel, is that it doesn’t collect any emails or data from users.

“When I was designing this, I wanted to make it available to everyone, not cost anything and not infringe on privacy. This is a real community, free operation,” Mr Smith said.

Birds of the Bay will also have a Facebook group for people to upload pictures of birds they see and connect with others in the community.

“We’re hoping to start up a big group of people, particularly for people who are in the breast cancer area because that’s who we had in mind when we were designing it,” Mr Smith said.

The Birds of the Bay app is dedicated to the frontline medical staff, nurses, doctors, political leaders, and all of the people involved in the fight against COVID-19 to keep Australia safe.

Download the app: birdsofthebay.com.au