The idea for the entirely pink store came from the only man in the room.

Rodney Kwock, the lone male on the Susan G. Komen Foundation Hawaii board, wanted to make buying pink products to support breast cancer research easier for Hawai'i shoppers.

You can buy all kinds of pink products online to support the Susan Komen breast cancer foundation, but you can't try on the shirt to see if it fits or weigh the coffee cup in your hand.

It was a bold idea. An entirely pink store run by volunteers hadn't been tried before. "The national board is watching us very closely," Kwock said.

It is one month before the store opens, and Kwock is already worried how he's going to fit everything in.

"Every day, someone new wants to volunteer or donate something pink for us to sell."

A "Pink Promise" will open Sept. 18 at Ward Warehouse on the second floor in the space formerly occupied by Kiyomi's Bridal. Half of the pink products will be official Susan G. Komen logo items. The other half will be pink items donated by local boutiques. For example, Town & Country has donated a pink surf board. The entire store will be run by volunteers. The store will be open for just one month, closing on Oct. 17, the day before the Honolulu Susan G. Komen race.

"This store is a sprint for us, not a marathon," Kwock said. "People can volunteer and go all out for a month, but it's different if it goes on longer."

Ward gave them a good price on rent and a contractor is donating his services to get the space ready. Kwock's committee is working on pricing items with the recession in mind. They want to be affordable but still raise money for the cause.

"But this is about more than making money," Kwock said. It's about raising awareness of the Komen foundation's presence in Hawai'i. "People only think of us when the TV news crews show up on the day of the race," he said.

Kwock got involved with the Komen foundation when a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. He ran the Komen race one year in her honor and grumbled that the shirts didn't fit men. "No grumble. You should volunteer to help," his friend told him — so he did. Kwock, who has experience working with a number of local nonprofits, soon found himself on the Komen board, in charge of fundraising.

His committee is planning events around the store's month of operation, including appearances by mixed martial artists who will model "Real Men Wear Pink" shirts, and a campfire night at Ward Warehouse on Oct. 14 where people can share their breast cancer experiences. In the store, there will be a wall where people can post pictures of people they want to honor or remember. Kwock is calling it the "wall of hope."

Kwock called on a merchant this week to ask if they might donate a dress.

Before he could even finish describing the store, one of the owners started crying and said, "We're in. We're doing this." Her mother had breast cancer.

Kwock is seeing this kind of reaction over and over again. "Breast cancer affects so many people."