Sweating under the Texas summer sun with spooky props in hand, SCARE for a CURE president Susan Pratt spends the monthslong build of each extreme interactive haunted adventure looking forward to the moment she and fellow volunteers present the year’s funds to the Breast Cancer Resource Center.

Since 1996, SCARE for a CURE, originally The Wild Basin, fights breast cancer with an annual haunted adventure to fundraise for local nonprofit Breast Cancer Resource Center (BCRC) throughout breast cancer awareness month. With a new theme every year, Pratt, SCARE’s assistant show director, said this year’s inspiration comes in the form of a 70s roadside museum where guests “audition” for the role of a ghost hunter. Pratt said past themes featured zombies and vampires.

“We have people who come out and fall in love with it. We put in hundreds of hours,” Pratt said. “We have people who are in it for the donations to the Breast Cancer Resource Center.”

Economics senior Sage Griffee serves as service chair for the Texas Wranglers, a student org that helps build the SCARE sets. Griffee said he feels a sense of duty to serve his community and that one of the Wranglers’ pillars, athletic ability, can oftentimes be helpful with the necessary “grunt work” the build requires.

“Service isn’t a pillar of our organization, but it’s something that’s always there,” Griffee said. “It’s something that we strive to do everyday.”

Pratt said SCARE draws volunteers of all ages with varying passions, from former set designers to her own nieces and nephews, who began helping with cleanup at the age of three.

“We have a couple (volunteers) who were ten and eleven when they started, and they used to fall asleep on the set,” Pratt said. “Seeing them get passionate about volunteering, about giving back to the community has been an important part for me.”

Since 2006, SCARE’s Halloween events raised more than $448,000 for the BCRC. As the main benefactor of SCARE, the volunteers at the BCRC reciprocate Pratt’s passion for community, often visiting the site themselves to help with the build or educate on the work they do.

“The partnership has grown and changed throughout the years,” said Alyssa Williams Mallow, the development director for the BCRC. “One of the cool things is that we support SCARE as well.”

Mallow said the BCRC shows up in various ways, from serving dinner to hardworking cast members to helping build and break down sets. Also a grassroots organization, the BCRC serves five counties in central Texas and provides resources for breast cancer patients in 47 states and five countries.

“A diagnosis is never bright and cheery,” Mallow said. “We’re really focusing on sharing some of our clients’ stories this month and introducing them to our community of supporters and donors.”