October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a critical time in the fight for education around a disease which statistically affects one in every 26 women in South Africa.
For the duration of the rAge expo – running from 5 to 7 October at the Ticketpro Dome in Northgate – a competition will be running to raise funds for the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), which gives entrants the chance to win some geeky prizes.
As South Africa’s largest annual video gaming, computer, technology and geek culture exhibition, rAge is the perfect platform for a group of Overwatch cosplayers to raise awareness for breast cancer. Much like the character of Mercy, a doctor named Angela Ziegler, these cosplayers are looking to strike the perfect balance between the power of healing and the joy of dressing up.
These cosplayers aren’t simply going to be throwing out random facts at perfect strangers though. They’ll be looking for donations and rewarding donors with pink ribbons, made from donated scrap materials.
“A simple donation will see the entrant go into a draw for a whole host of special goodies, including NAG hampers, a hand-painted Spider-Gwen figurine, a 3D-printed Pink Mercy prop gun replica, Funko Pop figures, and my personal favourite … a set of custom-made wings chosen by the winner,” explains the organiser of the contest, Bronwyn Scott.
“I was blown away by the amount of support that this initiative has received from an organisation, sponsor and volunteer point of view. Everyone wants to do something small to help out, and in doing so we have the opportunity to make a big impact,” she says.
The competition will run for the duration of the month, closing on 26 October. The draw will take place on 31 October.