Family, friends, supporters, and of course the 20 candidates of the “Real Men Wear Pink” campaign, gathered in the Lehigh Iacocca dining room Sept. 6 to celebrate the big reveal of the faces of nominees behind the campaign, and everything they are contributing to the fight against breast cancer.

These men are supporting the American Cancer Society by vowing to wear pink every day of October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Men in local businesses throughout the Lehigh Valley community have been nominated by colleagues and family members to raise funds and appear at several Amerian Cancer Society events to shed light on the important health concern that has touched the lives of many of the “Real Men Wear Pink” nominees and an alarming number of people nationwide.

Money raised will go toward mammographies, doctor bills, money for research grants (provided by the American Cancer Society), “Hope Lodges,” which provide a comfortable place for cancer patients and caregivers to stay in close proximity to treatment centers, and rides to treatment as a part of the Road to Recovery program.

The 20 men are: Curt Mosel, Will Lewis, Mike Kelly, Mike Vecchione, Dan Ginter, Dennis Hower, Aldo Cipriotti, Allen “AJ” Davis, Justin Keiper, Bill Safranek, Jim Mathiesen, Mike Dalton, Tim Harakal, Greg Smith, Scott Campfield, Alejandro Oliveros, Darren Betters, Chris Carullo, Alan Kern and Johnny Semonich.

Several of the “Real men” have already started raising money before the campaign even kicked off . According to Paula Green, executive director of the American Cancer Society for Greater Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, “out of 2,500 men nation-wide Dennis [Hower] is number 23...Dennis has already raised over 6,000 dollars. Your top five real men – that’s Dennis, Kurt, Aldo, Justin and Alejandro, have already raised over $10,000 combined.”

With a strong start to the campaign already, this project is expected to be successful in making a difference in the lives of many battling cancer.