The Deep South Network for Cancer Control will be kicking off the second annual Breast Cancer Rally on Oct. 2 at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center.

The rally, which is free to the public, will take place at the convention center from 11a.m. to 1p.m.

The event is an effort to increase breast cancer awareness among women in the 11 Black Belt counties targeted by the Deep South Network, which include Dallas, Perry, Greene, Lowndes, Marengo, Sumter and Wilcox counties, among others.

Claudia Hardy, program manger for the Deep South Network, said Selma is the site for this important rally because it is in the heart of the Black Belt.

“We want to do anything we can to improve the lives of people who live in the Black Belt counties,” Hardy said. “I’m a native of Dallas County, so the people there are important to me.”

In the first rally, Hardy says, there were about 150 people in attendance. This year, the organization hopes to double that number.

During the rally, women from the targeted counties can sign-up for reduced-cost mammograms through the Alabama Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

They will also hear from keynote speaker Frank Jackson, the program director for the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities.

According to the Deep South Network for Cancer Control, Jackson is a Birmingham native with more than 30 years of experience with the federal government.

“The Pfizer drug company has provided us with a grant to give away free t-shirts and door prizes during the rally,” Hardy said. “Everybody will be able to leave with something.”

Lunch will be served during the event and visitors can also enjoy musical entertainment.

A fun activity planned during the rally will be an oratorical contest between the community health advisors from the east and western division of the Black Belt on topic of “My Role as a Community Health Advisor.”

Hardy said the Deep South Network also has plans to “paint the town pink” by placing pink ribbons on local businesses and homes across the 11 counties.

Founded in 2000 by the National Cancer Institute, the Deep South Network targets the rural regions of the Black Belt and Mississippi Delta, along with the urban areas of Jefferson County and Hattiesburg/Laurel Miss.

Deep South Network works with the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Southern Mississippi, along with Tuskeegee University and the University of Alabama.