The Touchdown Club and the Mom’s Club of South Paulding High School have been making game-winning plays for years. Since 2014, they have hosted the Pink Out football game in October and have raised $2900 for Tanner Medical Foundation’s Mammogram Assistance Fund.
While it’s fun for the students and shows solidarity on campus, the game has a more important mission. It brings awareness to the fight against breast cancer and helps to make a difference in the lives of others.
The Pink Out game involves the entire South Paulding High campus. “Traditionally the whole crowd – everybody - wears pink,” said Krystal Waldrop, co-chair of the Mom’s Club. “It’s recognition for breast cancer and the survivors.”
The idea came about years ago and has included T-shirt sales and donations to help collect funds. In the past, Tanner’s mobile mammogram unit, Mammography on the Move, has been on hand to provide free mammograms. Those who are underinsured or without health insurance are able to take advantage of this life-saving measure.
One of the Pink Out Game’s biggest halftime highlight includes recognizing breast cancer survivors. “I think it’s important to give hope and to put a name to a survivor and see them in person,” Waldrop explained. “There’s hope that you’re going to get through it.”
Early detection is key to beating the disease. The five-year survival rate is nearly 100% when breast cancer is found at the Stage 0 or Stage 1 level, according to the American Cancer Society. It’s estimated that over 257,000 men and women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2017.
With that number in mind, the benefits of understanding the disease, its warning signs, diagnosis and treatment cannot be emphasized enough. “I think it’s very important that women get checked early,” Waldrop said. “Everybody is affected by cancer, whether directly or indirectly.”
And because everyone is touched, everyone shows support. The Mom’s Club and the Touchdown Club, including Fundraising Director Shea Ellerbee and her team, are truly grateful for the way the school and the community rally around this cause. Waldrop believes their particular venue makes it unique, and memorable. “It’s just an avenue for people who don’t normally donate, to have an opportunity at a football game,” she said.
The donations make an impression on the recipients. Waldrop hopes the example of helping others has an impact on the students as well. “I would just say, I hope that they have a generous spirit; that they have a giving heart,” she said.
“We are so proud of our partnership with the South Paulding High School Mom’s Club and Touchdown Club,” says Brian Dill, executive director of Tanner Foundation. “We applaud Mrs. Ellerbee, Head Coach Thompson and the entire Spartan community for helping the next generation understand the importance of giving back to their community.”
To learn more about the South Paulding Spartans and their upcoming Pink Out Game, please visit the South Paulding Spartans Football on Facebook, or email spartanmoms21@gmail.com.
Donations to Tanner Foundation’s Mammogram Assistance Fund are gratefully accepted at 770.812.GIFT (4438) or by secure online donation at www.TannerMedicalFoundation.org.
Caption:
The South Paulding High School Touchdown Club and Mom’s Club have hosted the Pink Out football game in October and have raised $2900 for Tanner Medical Foundation’s Mammogram Assistance Fund since 2014. The fund provides mammograms to local women who could not otherwise afford one. A highlight of the annual game is the recognition of survivors that often includes a pink balloon release.