On Saturday a partnership in Bowling Green raised funds for childhood cancer by giving out tattoos.
BroadWing Tattoo hosted its second annual “Tattoo for a Cause” event to raise funds for families with children who have cancer.
The tattoo parlor on North Main Street opened for business at 9 a.m. to a line of customers waiting to get awareness ribbons and puzzle pieces inked on.
Kele Pallitta, the founder of Comforting Hearts Inc., pitched the fundraiser to the shop last year when it was still known as Studio 14.
“I came in to get my organization’s logo done and Tyler Brott came up with the idea,” Pallitta said. “We started brainstorming and this is what we came up with.”
This year, the fundraiser donated profits from tattoos of the organizations logo or a puzzle piece as well as profits from any piercing done that day. The shop accepted any cash donations as well.
The logo tattoo cost customers $40 and the puzzle piece cost $50. Both tattoos could be inked in any color.
Last year, the fundraiser managed to raise more than $7,000 and tattooed more than one hundred people in 12 hours.
Brott, who recently renamed and took over operations of the shop, said donating 100 percent of the funds raised was a no-brainer.
“That’s the way it should be,” Brott said.
Brott has been working as a tattoo artist for 10 years and said the partnership with Comforting Hearts has been his only experience fundraising in a tattoo shop.
BroadWing advertised the event by distributing 2,000 fliers and posted about it on their Facebook page. Comforting Hearts helped raise awareness for the event as well.
This year, some customers drove from Chicago and Boston to get tattoos and support the cause.
Tanya Greenlee from Bloomdale drove to the Bowling Green shop to get her tattoo to honor her friend.
“This is a good cause. I have a friend with cancer so I got the logo to represent him.” Greenlee said.
Her tattoo was colored lime green—the awareness color for lymph node cancer.
Kingpin Tattoo Supply chipped in for the fundraiser by donating supplies like gloves, needles and tubes. Metal Mafia sent jewelry for piercings as well.
Brott said these supplies were expensive for the shop and that he was grateful for the donations. BroadWing would continue to use the shops own supplies if they ran out.
Myles Baker Street and Myles Pizza Pub also donated snacks and pizza for the event that lasted all day.
Each tattoo took about 20 minutes to finish and 5 artists donated their time.
Typically, BroadWing would close at 11 p.m. but Jennifer Brott said they would make exceptions.
“We’re going to stay open until every person gets their tattoo,” Brott said.
