Think Pink Volunteers to plant 5,000 tulips for cancer awareness

BANGOR – You could call Robin Whitten a modern-day Miss Rumphius.

But instead of lupines, Whitten has plans to blanket all of Maine in pink tulips to raise funds – and awareness – for breast cancer research. In October, local volunteers will plant 5,000 Angelique tulip bulbs in downtown Bangor and on the University of Maine campus in Orono as part of the Pink Tulip Project.

“There are people being affected by breast cancer everywhere,” said Whitten, 55, of Portland. “This is a reminder of our challenge to find a cure. It honors the people who have made it through – and the people who didn’t.”

Whitten, the founder of Audio File magazine, was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2004. She was “in shock,” and tried to absorb as much information as possible so she could make informed decisions. She spent a lot of time in Mercy Hospital’s lending library, where she discovered a book on visualization.

“I hadn’t really thought about using it, but then I thought, what could I visualize?” she said on a recent visit to Bangor. “My great love is my garden. It’s a spring garden, so I figured, ‘I’ll think about my garden.'”

Her flowering bulbs had already been planted, and she was determined to see them bloom.

“By then, I was through my surgery, I had started my treatments and was faced with the prospect of losing my hair,” Whitten recalled. “It was a vision of hope and inspiration to me to get through all the cancer treatments.”

She made it through, and after attending a meeting for breast cancer survivors, she wanted to share her vision with others. Last fall, she worked with Portland’s landscaping crews to plant hundreds of pink tulips in one of the city’s public gardens.

This year, Gibson Realty of Portland bought 15,000 tulips to be divided among Bangor, Orono, Portland and Lewiston. They will be planted in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In the Queen City, Keep Bangor Beautiful has teamed up with city landscapers to find high-visibility planting sites for 4,000 bulbs. In Orono, a group of University of Maine students will plant 1,000 bulbs on campus.

At this point, individual bulbs aren’t for sale for use in private gardens. However, the Pink Tulip Project seeks sponsors for bulbs planted in public gardens. Donors are asked to give $1 per bulb with the goal of raising $15,000 for the Women’s Cancer Fund at the Maine Cancer Foundation.

The MCF was founded in 1978 to fund research, education and patient support programs. It is an independent entity, and 100 percent of the money it raises stays in Maine.

If Whitten has her way, the project will generate lots of funding – and lots of beauty – for years to come. And this spring, Bangor, Orono, Lewiston and Portland will be thinking pink.

“It’s always a great joy after our long winters,” Whitten said. “That’s why I grow bulbs myself. You anticipate the blossoms and flowers of spring.”

For information on the Pink Tulip Project, visit www.mainecancer.org. For information on local efforts, call Keep Bangor Beautiful at 990-1901 or contact UMaine’s student organizers by e-mailing caitlinsanborn@umit.maine.edu or michellemorneault@umit.maine.edu.