The National Football League and NFL Players Association will support October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with their fourth-annual national breast cancer screening initiative and fundraising campaign. In collaboration with the American Cancer Society, the initiative, called “A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives,” reminds women 40 and older about the importance of having an annual mammogram.
To date, the partnership has raised more than $3 million for the American Cancer Society, with the majority of the donation coming from the sale of pink items at retail and on NFL Auction. Beginning this year, money raised through A Crucial Catch will support the American Cancer Society’s Community Health Advocates National Grants for Empowerment (CHANGE) program. This program provides outreach and breast cancer screenings to women who need them. The NFL markets being supported in the first year of the program are Atlanta, Baltimore, New England, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Washington, DC.
Beginning tonight and continuing throughout the month, NFL breast cancer awareness games will feature:
- Game balls with pink ribbon decals used for every down and pink kicking tees
- Pink equipment for players including: cleats, wristbands, gloves, sideline caps, helmet decals, captains’ patches, chin straps, shoe laces, skull caps, sideline towels, eye shield decals and quarterback towels
- Pink coins used for the coin toss
- Pink sideline caps for coaches and sideline personnel and pink ribbon pins for coaches and team executives
- Pink caps, wristbands, whistles and pins for game officials
- On-field pink ribbon stencils and A Crucial Catch wall banners
- Pink goal post padding in end zones
- Breast cancer awareness pompoms, shirts and wristbands for cheerleaders
Game-worn pink merchandise and footballs will be autographed post-game and auctioned at NFL Auction (www.nfl.com/auction). All NFL Auction proceeds from the sale of breast cancer awareness items during the month of October will benefit the American Cancer Society.
Wondering why the NFL does not do more for other forms of cancer ? My wife is batteling brain cancer and while I recognize and appreciate these may be more people afflicted with breast cancer u can live wit shout breast but not your brain. Just would like to see more going towards different research.