Hamilton baseball and softball programs announce ‘Bases for a Cure 2009′
March 12, 2009
HAWKEYES TO “GO PINK” AT HAMILTON TOURNAMENT TO RAISE MONEY FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS.
HAMILTON, Mich. — The Hamilton High School baseball and softball programs have joined forces with the Southwest Michigan affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research by hosting their first ever “Bases for a Cure” fundraising campaign. Both varsity teams will be “going pink” for the Hamilton Tournament on April 25, 2009.
The teams will be wearing pink jerseys and wristbands to bring awareness to their fundraising efforts. Members of both the varsity baseball and softball teams will be selling pink “Bases for a Cure” t-shirts for $10 with 100 percent of the profits ($5) being donated to the Komen Southwest Michigan Affiliate.
Breast cancer has affected members of the Hamilton community in recent years. Some quick facts about breast cancer are:
• Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women in the United States.
• For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer besides lung cancer.
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. women. More than 1 in 4 cancers are breast cancer.
• As of 2008, there are about 2.5 million women in the U.S. who have survived breast cancer. (www.breastcancer.org)
When discussing the impact of breast cancer on the community, Hamilton varsity baseball coach Ken DeGood said: “We’ve had a lot of people who have been diagnosed or have been in treatment and are battling breast cancer with their families, friends and church communities. Hamilton is a pretty tight community so when someone is diagnosed, the community rallies together to help their cause. We are confident that Hamilton will rally once again to support this cause that our student athletes have chosen to support.”
The Komen Southwest Michigan Affiliate helps by keeping fundraising money in West Michigan. Rosemary LaDuke, executive director of KSMA says: “75 percent of our net funds stay in Southwest Michigan and are primarily used for Pink Saturdays for the Cure, a collaborative program with 20 mammography facilities (including all hospitals), several radiology organizations, and many medical organizations. The other 25 percent goes directly to national breast cancer research studies. During 2008 the Pink Saturdays program provided almost 1,400 free mammograms to women in Allegan, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties.”
For more information about the Susan G. Komen for a Cure, please visit www.komenswmichigan.org and www.komen.org.
If you are interested in purchasing a “Bases for a Cure” pink t-shirt, please e-mail assistant coach Mark Behnke at mbehnke@hamiltonschools.us or call him at 269-751-5185 ext. 521.
