2011 Blogger Boobie-Thon - We share because we care! Bloggers raising breast cancer awareness by baring their boobies to raise money for breast cancer research!

And it’s over

Wow, what a ride.  The 10th Annual Blogger Boobie-Thon has ended, and I'm so proud of what this little event has accomplish over the past 10 years.  It's bittersweet that this is the last year, but it also feels like the right time to retire the Boobie-Thon.  We've had a great run, and in internet years we're like 87 or something.  

This year we've raised $10,003.88  -- $7,448.88 for Komen and $2,555 for Wendy. I could not be more proud. 

Every year, our volunteers work around the clock to make the Boobie-Thon a success.  A lot of folks don't get what it takes to run this thing; there's a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but in the end, it's worth it all.  Jenn, Misty, and Christy, thank you for being here with me, getting photos up and leading the charge on twitter and facebook.  

To all of our donors and photo participants, thank you!  Your generosity blows me away time and time again. Thank you thank you!

Also a huge thank you to the Second Life Boobie-Thon who has coordinated a week of events that raises money for Komen and then pledges it through to Boobie-Thon.  This year they donated $2,133.88!  

To everyone who has been here this year and for all of our supporters over the years, thank you for making the Boobie-Thon a fun, irreverent, at times crazy fundraiser.  We have gone from being blasted for objectifying women, to a legitimate pledge drive that helps save womens lives.  You all did that.  You should be proud of what you've accomplished here in the past 10 years.  I know I am.  

10 Years

10 years.  It's hard to imagine something that was created on the fly has now been around longer than the Internet had even been in existence when the first Boobie-Thon took place!  In 2002 I was still in my 20s, even if just barely.  I wasn't yet a mom and didn't even own a digital camera, much less a DSLR.  Now I have a 2nd grader, a 1st grader, and I'm a professional photographer and editor at Professional Photographer Magazine.  A lot of things have changed in the last decade!

When I put the Boobie-Thon up for adoption in 2007, the "want ad" included the following:  "You will be part owner, part manager, part press coordinator, part therapist, part help desk, part web designer, part tech support, part photo editor.....And you will come back and do it year after year because it will be one of the best, most life-changing things you have ever been associated with."  But I could not have created in type what Melissa has been in reality.  I also had no way of knowing in addition to the job description, soon "social media expert" would be added to the list.  Flickr was just a baby.  MySpace was something "those kids" did.  Facebook and Twitter had yet to make their presence known.  Forget Instagram -- cell phones didn't even take photos back then!  But Melissa navigated the new Internet without a hiccup and never missed a beat.  She cracked the elusive $10K barrier in 2009 and did it again in 2010.  She brought new life and new vision to the event at a time it would turn out to be needed like never before.  And not only has she done the event proud, she's helped change the model of breast cancer fundraising forever.

I never dreamed a joke between friends would end up where it has.  I remember being excited at making the first $75.00.  It was beyond my wildest imagination that a decade later, three additional zeros could be added to that amount!  But thanks to each and every one of you who have donated time, photos, word of mouth, and hard-earned dollars, this is something every single person who has been involved with the event one way or another can be proud of!  And I will be.  10 years from now.  20 years from now.  I will be humbled at everything the Boobie-Thon accomplished - for awareness, for sharing the stories of survival, and for the Cure - for the rest of my life.

Thanks for the mammories!

-Robyn Pollman
tampatantrum.com

That’s what she said…

For the love of Boobie-Thon, we get so many awesome emails and tweets.  Here are just a few:

"Thanks for your volunteer work on this awesome project!"

"soooo sad to see you guys ending this awesome campaign. you have done so much to help with the breast cancer research. god bless you all."

"I think the work you are doing is wonderful "

"I'd like to thank you all for the years of hard work and dedication to the cause. I've had a couple of abnormal scans that turned out not to be cancer, but every time has been frightening. I've been a participant a number of years now, and I appreciate all the laughs and fun to get things together for all the submissions."

"Thanks for your work for this great cause."

"What your doing is great!"

"Sorry to hear you guys are closing this down. I've had a lot of fun participating the last couple of years. Good luck to you in every other endeavor you face! "

"say it isn't so?  say you'll be back. you all have done an amazing job and we thank you for your hardwork and dedication"

We are standing by…

Just a quick update.  We have some new (and old) photos up in the covered gallery.  We thought it might be fun to take a look back at some photos from previous events, since this will be the last Boobie-Thon.  

We are here until 11:59pm Eastern October 7th, 2011 to take your donations. We are also taking photo submissions until 8pm Eastern October 7th, 2011, so there's still time to get them in. 

Thank you donors for your generous contributions.  Every dollar matters and we are so thankful you choose to support us again this year.  Just as a reminder, a $50 donation will give you access to the bare galleries from 2003 through 2011.  We also have $5 raffle tickets for a new Kindle Fire and of course, it wouldn't be the Boobie-Thon without a custom blog design from Moxie!

We’ve got updates!

New pics in the bare and covered galleries.  

Have you donated yet?  If not, there's less than 48 hours left of Boobie-Thon, so what are you waiting for?

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

I'm not even sure where to start in making this announcement.  So I'm just going to say it.

The 10th Boobie-Thon (2011) will be the last.

It's hard to even type that.  This event has meant so much to me over the past 5 years that I've been coordinating it and so much to Robyn who started it.  The internet has changed so much since 2002, when you knew everyone in the blogging community and when you told someone about your blog, they looked at you all funny and said "What's a blog?".  Now, blogging and tweeting and facebooking is everywhere, in every corner of our lives.  And while we've had an amazing ride these past 10 years, both Robyn and myself feel like it's time to retire the Blogger Boobie-Thon.

What started as a joke turned into an amazing fundraiser to save lives and help fellow bloggers. It seems so cliche, but this has changed my life.  I've met some amazing women and have heard so many heartbreaking and touching stories in this past 5 years that will be with me forever. 

I can not thank all of YOU enough for being with us; for sharing with us; for blogging about us; for tweeting with us; for opening up your wallets; for taking off your tops.  We would have no Boobie-Thon if we didn't have you.  Thank you doesn't seem like enough.

And our volunteers through the years.  You all have blown me away with your generosity and support.  Thank you!  Thank you!

But, we still have work left to do now.  We shut down our doors at 11:59pm Eastern on October 7, 2011.  And of course we'd love for you to be here with us until the end.  Donations and Photos are still being accepted and we are still in this for 2 more days!  I hope you'll stick around. 

Ohhh HI!

We need your photos!  And your donations!  And your help!  

Day 4 is here

Wow, Day 4 already.  I can hardly believe it, as most of the past week has been a total blur. 

I think starting off on a weekend slowed things down a little, but we are here and ready to kick some ass. Let's move into high gear today!

There are a few things you can do to help, so if you have a chance please try to do at least ONE thing.  

• Send in a photo! You will always remain anonymous and we will never share your info with anyone. Covered or Bare, we don't care!
• Blog about us!  BLOG BLOG BLOG BABY! 
• You could tweet about us. 
• Get yourself a twibbon and promote the Boobie-Thon through your twitter profile.
• Join the Facebook Boobie-Thon Fan page and invite friends to join too!
• Grab a badge or button and put it on the sidebar of your blog, your myspace page, or your facebook page. Wherever!
• Join the 2011 Flickr Group and spread the word to all your flickr friends!
• Anything else you care to do!
• We're not picky...
• We'll take anything!

We appreciate every single donation regardless of amount, so if you can only give $1 or $100, it all makes a difference. 

If you've submitted a photo, please submit more. Add a pink ribbon. Perhaps some whipped cream. Use your imagination.  We love creativity and we want more of it.  

If anyone also have any photo suggestions/requests, contact us , leave a comment here or tweet us and we'll post about it here/twitter/facebook and hopefully fulfill that request.  

Let's rock and roll.

Lights. Cameras.  Snap!

We are down to ZERO photos so we need your help ladies and gentleman.  Please get your cameras out and snap a few shots and send them in. Let your friends know too!  We'll love you for it.

Welcome to day three!

Good morning everyone.  We are starting off day 3 with some updates to both bare and covered galleries.  Thank you to all of the photo participants!

Donations through the weekend were over $2K. In case you missed, it we have a great Moxie Blog Giveaway (with custom illustration) that runs through the 7th -- be sure to get in on that! 

Now go donate!

Two grand

We just broke $2,000!!!  Thank you!

We have 18 new photos up in the VIP Pay-Per-Boobie section.  And more to go.  The covered gallery will also see one more update tonight. 

Keep your donations and photo submissions coming.

October 1st is here

Today is our first full day of the Boobie-Thon.  We are working on getting new photos up in both the covered and VIP Pay-Per-Boobie galleries.  

We have our volunteers standing by ready to edit and publish your photos, so get them in to us. Please check out the FAQ for photo guidelines and suggestions.  We welcome multiple submissions as well. 

We are less than $500 away from breaking $1K.  Thank you all for your support and donations.  Remember your donations to Komen are tax deductible and we also have our Bloggers Helping Bloggers charity. 

We will be here all day, giving you updates and photos.  

Have a great Saturday!

Bloggers Helping Bloggers & Welcome to the Boobie-Thon

I say this every year, but in keeping with the spirit of the 1st Boobie-Thon, we are so happy to be able to choose a blogger who needs our help now.

When Statia (the reason we even have a Boobie-Thon*NSFW* today!) talked to me about nominating Wendy for the Bloggers Helping Bloggers charity back in July, I already knew that there was no choice to be made.  Wendy  has been a long time supporter and volunteer of the Boobie-Thon.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer last November and at the same time, she lost her job.   She went through treatment this past year.  She fought hard and just a few weeks ago, her PET scan came back all clear.   We are so happy that she is doing well physically (when breast cancer is found early, the 5 year survival rate is 98%).  However, a year without a job, cobra payments and insane medical bills...well do we need to say anymore?  Wendy needs our help and that's what we do at the Boobie-Thon!  So please help us, help Wendy by making a donation directly to her via paypal. 

With that said, the 10th Annual Boobie-Thon is open (a wee bit early) and taking donations and of course accepting all of your photo submissions. 

Pre-Launch Photo Time

Just a quick note to let everyone know that pre-launch photos are now being accepted. 

We are still working on the site so if you notice anything weird going on, we know about it and are just doing some testing and tweaking before our official launch on October 1st!

Also, if you are interested in helping out this year, we need photo editors.  Please contact us for more details.

The 10th Annual Boobie-Thon is almost here!

Hey guys.  It's been awhile but it doesn't really feel like it.  I hope you all have had a fabulous year and are ready to kick off the TENTH (can you really believe it?) Boobie-Thon!  

This year's 'thon officially launches October 1st, but start to get those cameras out, because we accept pre-launch photos on Monday September 26th (in FIVE DAYS!).  There's much to do between now and then. 

As always, we are in need of volunteers.  If you are interested in volunteering please please please get in touch.  There are a ton of spots open for pre-launch and event photos.  

Thank you all for your continued support throughout the years.  Let's make the BIG TEN the biggest yet!