Hawker football fields will be sparkling with pink this Saturday. Photos: Supplied.
On Saturday (22 June) Belsouth Football Club will continue their affiliation with Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) for the third straight year to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
This will involve over 900 boys, girls, men and women’s players wearing pink beanies to help highlight the significance of the cause.
BCNA board member and breast cancer survivor, Cate Hale, expressed her gratitude for the club’s efforts to raise awareness and offer support for those affected by breast cancer.
“It gives me hope,” Cate said. “I think it is important to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds.
“As a person that has actually gone through it, you actually feel supported and it is a very visible feeling of knowing that you are not alone.
“The conversation is continuing and even though you may have survived it, the people going through it now are getting that same level of support.”
The support and camaraderie shown over the last two years highlight just how much the fundraiser has grown.
Last year saw Belsouth players wear pink shorts and raise an astonishing $20,000, which smashed their first-year efforts where they raised $7,000.
The support and camaraderie shown over the last two years highlight just how much the fundraiser has grown and positively affected people in the Canberra region – especially for those directly affected by breast cancer, who can at times feel overwhelmed and unsure of what the future holds.
“This gives people a very tangible and real way of being able to respond to it, so in the face of feeling like you don’t know where to look, it gives people something real to go to participate and be part of it all.
“I think that is where the joy comes because the cancer itself is overwhelming, but the support of the community and the support of the people around you is what can shift and change you.
Seventy teams across the Belconnen-based club will represent pink on Saturday and Belsouth president Andrew Higginson says what he hears across the grounds on the day has him in awe.
“The talk on the day is amazing,” Andrew said. “It touches everyone on the day where there are mothers, grandmothers and daughters who talk about it and you are blown away by the number of people. It just opens up that ability for people to be able to talk about it.”
Seventy teams across the Belconnen-based club will represent pink on Saturday.
In 2018, Andrew hoped the club would rack up $10,000, but the tremendous support contributed to that amount being doubled, which displayed the club’s strong community spirit.
“It is a buzz, but I guess it shows we are a community in ourselves, but we like to give back to the community we operate in,” Andrew said. “Breast cancer impacts every family in our club, everyone knows someone who has had it or survived it or not survived it.
“As well as fundraising for BCNA, it is also about raising awareness for yearly checks and all of those sorts of things.”
Andrew is hopeful that the fundraiser will generate $23,000 for 2019.
Belsouth Pink Beanie Day: Murranji Street, Hawker, 9:00 am – 4 pm, Saturday 22 June.
Loading ...
