There's a hot pink oil rig in West Texas.

It's not a quirky Texas public art installation. It's unrelated to Marfa's Prada storefront or Ant Farm's Cadillac Ranch. It's about something much more affecting, much closer to home.

The Pink Well, as she's known, is an emblem for the universal battle against breast cancer. And she's more than a symbol; the Pink Well is a working, active pumpjack owned by Houston oilman Lester Smith, and her profits will go directly to the aid of women living with the disease.

Lester and Sue Smith have a long history of fighting breast cancer with the same inexhaustible energy they take to the dance floor, where they count the United States Grand Senior Latin Dance Championship among their accomplishments. Their $15 million donation to the Harris County Hospital District in April was record-breaking, and Lester was recently recognized with a Health Care Hero award for his philanthropy.

Along with championing cancer research, the Smiths have long been champions of the underdog. No, "underdog," isn't quite the right word, Lester says. "We champion people with less access."

With that in mind, the Smiths designed their Pink Well challenge to benefit the little guy — smaller cancer organizations that might not have the access and recognition to get big grants. "There is talent everywhere," Sue says. "Smaller groups might not have the same access, but they care as much. The saying 'it takes a village' really says it all."

Rather than making another large donation to a large organization, the Pink Well Challenge "supports everyone who wants to make a difference," Sue says, by matching the fundraising efforts of smaller organizations.

"It allows people to do for themselves what they're not able to do by themselves," Lester says. "It's a hand up, not a hand out."

Sue and Lester might enjoy easier access, but the battle with cancer is no foreign concept. Sue lost her sister to the disease in 2000, and Lester has won personal battles with both prostate and bladder cancer. Sue's sister was given five years when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the mid-'90s, a prognosis that Sue says her sister refused to accept. She didn't make it quite that long.

"It was a daily terror of holding your breath until the results came," Sue remembers. "You're always waiting for bad news. It took a long time for me not to jump when the phone rang."

At the time, personalized care for cancer patients wasn't common practice. "She was a number," Lester says, likening his sister-in-law's experience to waiting at the deli counter in a busy supermarket.

Watching the ordeal that she went through inspired Sue and Lester to work to change that experience for others trying to cope with a cancer diagnosis. They believe encouraging smaller organizations with big ideas will lead to better and faster changes in diagnosis, treatment and patient care. The goal: Focus on making life more livable for anyone with breast cancer.

"We do it because it's our duty," Lester says. "And I'm not a religious person. It's our duty as human beings to help other human beings."

And it's a duty that Lester Smith fulfills well. "Lester is a businessman," says his wife. "Whatever charitable endeavor we get involved in, he applies his business principles to."

With that in mind, I ask Lester how he'll measure the success of this latest cancer initiative. "Our job is never done," he says. "If it were I would quit giving away money." He laughs, and turns serious: "If we give someone a chance."

The Challenge

Organizations from across the nation that want to participate in the Pink Well Challenge can apply for a grant online. A panel of judges will select semi-finalists, which the Smiths will review and from which 20 organizations will be picked as finalists.

A total of up to $1 million will be distributed among these organizations, which will pledge to raise up to $45,000 by Aug. 12 as well as create and submit a short video explaining who they are, what they do and their vision for the funds.

The 20 finalists' videos will be posted online at pinkwell.org, where the public can vote for their favorite video from Aug. 10 through Oct. 7 and where the videos will raise awareness about the organizations' missions.

The finalist whose video receives the most online votes and the organization that raises the most funding will each get an additional $50,000 grant from the Lester and Sue Smith Foundation.

Each finalist (including the two winners) that reaches its fundraising goal will receive a dollar-for-dollar match from the foundation of up to $45,000.

(If the same organization raises the most funds and gets the most video votes, it would get an additional $100,000. So, if an organization wins both those competitions and raises $45,000 or more, it could receive as much as $145,000 from the Lester and Sue Smith Foundation).

Charitable organizations may include, but aren't limited to, research institutions, social service support groups, multiservice clinical providers and other service organizations. Applications are due by July 1.

Lester Smith talks about the Pink Well Challenge: