BREAST Cancer Month came and went with more than one event geared towards making sufferers into survivors. But on the last Friday in October, a group of University of the West Indies students hosted a memorable event to help the grieving family of a cancer victim.

A group from the University’s Tourism Management course, Meetings and Conventions, aimed their project at helping those who cannot help themselves.

Breast cancer is a leading killer of Jamaican women, so after receiving the go ahead from their course co-ordinator, Eritha Huntly, this group decided to take their charity event from a different angle, by joining hands with the Optimist Club of North St Andrew to help a family who had lost their loved one to this disease.

Cocktails for Cancer was an upbeat party of mostly close friends and families of the group members. Young ladies in cocktail dresses and young men in sharp suits took to the floor as they greeted each other happily, chatting over drinks and giving special attention to the live entertainment.

The event, held at the Rex Nettleford Multipurpose Room on the campus Friday night, started off with a few excellent jazz and oldies pieces, performed by the UWI’s Pop Society.

The Pop Society kept the small crowd entertained for a few hours, changing the genre from jazz to R&B with songs like The Temptation’s My Girl and Jill Scott’s A Long Walk, and even dropped an alternative piece in the mix. They even invited Toni Blair ,from this year’s Digicel Rising Stars top five to do a piece.

In-between performances, the Pop Society’s live band took over and kept the crowd on its feet, laughing, talking and grooving to the music.

Then Abigail Wood, a third year Bio-Technology and Zoology student with an amazing voice took to the microphone. The 21-year-old belted out Adele’s HomeTown Glory, which was well recieved by the crowd.

The DJ, Usain Bolt, took over for the rest of the night, while patrons young, old and in-between, chatted away happily, knowing that they had each done their own little part in making the world a better place.

Some sponsors of this event were Polypet Company Ltd, Alliance Investment, Pantry, Socellie Mobile Solutions, Lascelles, Diageo Jamaica, Learning for Life, Grace Kennedy, Island Events, Wing Kings, Versailles Spring Water, Usain Bolt, Digital Solutions, Page’s Cafe, Unforgettably Yours Party Rentals, Avantgarde Hireage and the Rex Nettleford Hall.

— Kristen Laing