Pink: the color commonly associated with love and compassion. It’s soothing, it’s comforting, it’s healing. According to curetoday.com, Breast Cancer Awareness Month uses the color pink to represent just that: the exact opposite of what breast cancer is.
14 years ago, Westfield girls volleyball started a Breast Cancer Awareness Month fundraiser to support their head coach, Beverly Torok, as she fought against breast cancer.
This fundraiser grew into a tradition at WHS: The annual Pink Out game. The team wears pink shirts made just for this event, and the crowd wears pink to raise awareness. This year, Pink Out took place on Oct. 12 against undefeated Watchung Hills. In a riveting three-set match, Westfield came out victorious on their homecourt despite losing the first set. Read more about the game on hiseyesports.org.
In addition to intense matches, JV and varsity volleyball players created a human tunnel where breast cancer survivors are celebrated for their strength in their battle against breast cancer.
All proceeds from the event go to Pathways, an organization based in Summit, NJ. Volleyball player Gabrielle Flannery said, “Pathways is a non-profit organization that gives 100 percent of its earnings to their cause.”
According to connectiononline.org, Pathways is a program that creates a community through its free support, education and wellness programs for women with cancer.
To raise money, volleyball players sold shirts during lunch periods for $15. The shirts continued to be sold at the Pink Out matches, along with raffle baskets where fans could buy tickets to win donated goods from local businesses. The night of Pink Out, the girls volleyball team raised $11, 277.23 for Pathways. In total, the program raised over $22,000.
“[Pink Out] is a very special event. It was so great to see everyone come together to not only support all breast cancer survivors but our own Coach Torok too,” said Flannery.
In addition to the girls volleyball fundraiser, the Student Government Association hosts an event of their own: The annual student versus staff volleyball game. The game encourages friendly competition between students and their favorite teachers, creating a chance for the student body to come together during an activity period.
The homerooms that raised the most money buying pink bracelets got to watch the match on the bleachers in the gym. Other homerooms watched from a livestream with broadcast reporting from BDTV sports anchor Emmy Wotonowski and girls volleyball senior captain Caitlin Cabrales. Although the match has resulted in a tie for the past two years, the students came out on top this year, winning both sets.
While the two teams played, homerooms decorated the doors of their classrooms with pink and white ribbons, streamers, pink paper, tinsel and other supplies while they watched. The classrooms that won this recent contest were Room 235, Room 241 and Room 182. These homerooms will be rewarded with a bagel breakfast. The
SGA’s goal was to bring awareness to breast cancer and build a stronger school community with some rewards to help keep students engaged.
This year, the SGA donated $1,500 to Pathways. Vice President Kaitlynn Czarnecki said, “Donating was an important cause for the SGA. Not only is Pathway a non-profit, but it helps many women in our community and especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month it’s so important to help.”
For the rest of October, make sure to wear pink to support breast cancer awareness and all of the women fighting against the disease.