(01-22-08)
WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- The University of New Haven Department of Athletics is joining over 600 other schools in the fight against breast cancer by participating in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) "Think Pink" initiative. UNH's week-long efforts center around the women's basketball game on February 9, and also include a mobile mammography van on campus February 16 and a "Be Bold, Go Bald!" competition among fraternities and sororities.
"The WBCA is very excited to promote an initiative that touches all levels of our membership and unifies them for such a great cause," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "It has been remarkable to watch the support of this initiative grow from 120 schools last year to over 600 schools for 2008. With the help of each of our members, the women's basketball community can make a difference in the fight against breast cancer."
Charger fans are encouraged to to support the effort by wearing pink to the UNH women's basketball game vs. Molloy College on Saturday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m. All fundraising proceeds will go to the Hospital of Saint Raphael's Father Michael J. McGivney Center for Cancer Care. The UNH women's team will wear pink shoelaces during the game to show their support, and UNH will have pink-themed give-aways for fans in attendance. At the game, UNH will promote a visit to campus by the Yale-New Haven Hospital mobile mammography van, which will provide breast cancer screenings on Saturday, Feb. 16.
The "Think Pink" efforts to fight breast cancer aren't limited to just those two events, however. A full week of awareness will take place in Bartels Hall on the main UNH campus leading up to the game. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to stop by the student center lobby from February 4-8 and make a donation to sign either pink ribbons, to be displayed in Charger Gymnasium on Feb. 9, or pink t-shirts that will be worn by the UNH's women's basketball team during warm-ups that day. Women's Basketball team members and cheerleaders will also solicit pink ribbon-signing donations from faculty and staff on campus the week prior to the game.
Additionally, UNH's fraternities and sororities are challenging one another in a "Be Bold, Go Bald!" fundraising initiative, where students can support the fight against breast cancer by shaving their heads to help raise money.
The NCAA has also joined the WBCA's "Think Pink" initiative by implementing the "Calling for a Cure" campaign where all NCAA women's basketball officials will be blowing a pink whistle February 8-17. Additionally, officials are encouraged to make a donation to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
The "Think Pink" initiative is part of UNH Athletics' broader Community Engagement efforts, which seek to help immerse the surrounding towns and community organizations in life at the university while providing opportunities for student-athletes and coaches to give back to their communities. For more information about UNH's "Think Pink" Day on February 9, or for any of UNH's Community Engagement projects, please contact Associate Director of Athletics Susan Zawacki by calling 203.932.7357 or e-mail szawacki@newhaven.edu.
