Former San Dimas Mayor Opens Tattoo Shop For Charity
By Juliette Funes
Published : October 7, 2009

Former San Dimas mayor Terry Dipple will host his second annual Tattoos for the Cure on Saturday in his quest to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for cancers.

Dipple will open his tattoo shop, Ink’d Chronicles from noon to midnight, where tattoo artists will ink patrons, cancer survivors and family members who have been affected by breast cancer with pink cancer-awareness-ribbon tattoos.

“It’s just a really cool, fun and emotional event,” Dipple said. “The fact that they are around other people and sharing stories is a chance to kind of celebrate and talk with other people.”

Tattoos for the Cure had a poignant start for Dipple.

Originally looking for a way to celebrate his shop’s first anniversary, Dipple decided to dedicate the event to raising funds for the Robert and Beverly Lewis Family Care Center at the Pomona Valley Hospital, where his fiance had been receiving radiation treatment and undergoing surgery for breast cancer.

She was eventually deemed cancer free.

“It was an emotional time for all of us, and I wanted to do something to show my appreciation for the cancer care center and raise awareness for breast cancer,” Dipple said.

Last year, the event attracted almost 50 and raised $4,500 for the Breast Health Center at the Pomona Valley Hospital. The minimum donation is $80.

“My slogan is `Every tattoo has a story’ … because a tattoo really is a chronicle, a story in ink,” he said. “I didn’t
Advertisement
think that it would really ring as true as it did as a result of last year’s Tattoos for the Cure because every one of those people who got a tattoo had a moving, emotional story behind the tattoo they were getting.”

Several attendees were grandmothers, mothers and daughters getting a tattoo in memory of a loved one who had passed away from cancer, Dipple said.

“We had one woman last year that got a pink ribbon and under it she had `Survivor’ written. Everyone was cheering. It was awesome,” he said. “Its something I really connected with.”

Knowing that breast cancer continues to be an ongoing battle with his fiance and other women, Dipple said he wants to expose the issue to a younger demographic, starting with his clients, who tend to be 20-35 years old.

“I just wanted to do it again this year, and hopefully it will be successful,” Dipple said. “It’s heartwarming and you know you’re doing something good.”

Source : SGV Tribune