As a sponsor of Paint the Town Pink, Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin will match funds raised in the Plunging for Pink event on Feb. 1.

This event will be held at 12:30 p.m. at East Side Lake in Austin.

Mayo Clinic Health System, which contributed an initial $1,500 to Paint the Town Pink, will match dollars raised by Mayo Clinic Health System teams up to $3,500, for a total donation of $5,000.

“Mayo Clinic Health System staff is touched by many forms of cancer, including breast cancer, in many ways,” Kristin Johnson, vice chair of administration, Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin, said in a press release. “They treat patients diagnosed, offer support for those fighting to defeat the disease, or are committed to help find better treatments or even a cure and at times battle cancer for themselves or friends and family members. Engaging in Paint the Town Pink activities is one way of showing our collective support to raise funds for cancer research locally here in Austin.”

Paint the Town Pink started in 2011 with a single Austin Bruins hockey game with pink ice and raised $23,000.

Over the past decade, Paint the Town Pink has grown to include several events throughout the year, raising more than $1.77 million to support breast cancer research at The Hormel Institute.

For more information and a complete list of Paint the Town Pink activities, visit the Hormel Institute website or Paint the Town Pink Facebook page.