Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

Pam Kosolofski of Eston has been selling purple pansies for several years now to raise money for pancreatic cancer research and she’s not slowing down.

Purple is the colour of choice for pancreatic cancer awareness, similar to how pink is the colour tied to breast cancer awareness. Kosolofski sells the purple pansies each year to help raise money for research funded by Pancreatic Cancer Canada.

The purple pansies come in four-packs and each four-pack costs $5. Contact Kosolofski at 306-962-4491 to order four-packs of pansies. People will be able to pick up their pansies on May 10 in Kindersley or Eston, and people in other communities will receive the orders in the days to follow.

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Kosolofski has taken it upon herself to raise awareness and money for the cause because her husband lost his battle with the terminal illness. Pancreatic cancer has no known cause, no early detection and no known cure.

The Eston resident said she is going big for 2018. She noted that she has ordered a total of about 1,700 four-packs and it is more pansies than she has ever ordered before, but 300 of the four-packs were ordered for a helper in Rosetown. She said 1,400 four-packs will be a personal best.

Kosolofski has to order the pansies in February because the greenhouse grows the flowers from seed. The pansies are grown in Alberta at Oyen Greenhouses Ltd. and she said the greenhouse has been excellent.

People could contact her in the coming weeks to place their orders, but she said the earlier the better. She recognized that the flowers would make a nice gift for Mother’s Day because it falls on May 13. After he expenses, she said last year’s campaign went really well.

“I sent them $5,000 last year,” Kosolofski said, referring to the record fundraising total from her pansy sales in 2017 that she was able to send to Pancreatic Cancer Canada. “That was awesome.”

There are people in other communities who help out. She said she has helpers in several communities such as Eatonia, and she knows people in places as far away as Wainwright, Alta., who help out with the campaign. People will be able to order pansies until all 1,400 four-packs are spoken for, Kosolofski added.

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