By Sophia Yannopoulos, courtesy of Kent News
Case Dorm held its winter term fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness by sponsoring the Kent boys varsity hockey team’s night game against the Trinity Pawling School on Valentine’s Day. From balloons and streamers to the hockey teams’ pink jerseys, the hockey rink was decked out in pink. The organizers of this event, Nadia Hadi ’10, Caroline Melly ’10, and Rachel Steiner ’10, encouraged members of the Kent community to come out and support breast cancer awareness by sporting pink attire. Their efforts proved to be a success since the Pink Out game raised about eight hundred dollars, not including donations that were taken from student debit accounts. This was a great sum of money to add to the over two thousand dollars the girls raised in the fall by partaking in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Litchfield, Connecticut.
One of the highlights of the event was the specialized pink jerseys that the hockey team wore to support the cause. Steiner ’10 said, “It was really hard to keep the pink jerseys a secret, so we had to tell the boys that they weren’t coming in time. Once they saw them on Saturday night, they were so excited.” The jerseys will go on to reap further benefits for the charitable cause as they will be signed by New Jersey Devils players and auctioned off.
Hadi, Melly, and Steiner worked closely with Ms. Theresa E. Mullen, the Community Executive of Development in Litchfield County for the American Cancer Society (ACS), in setting up for the fundraiser. Ms. Mullen donated t-shirts along with bracelets and pencils for the girls to have available at the game. The members of the fundraiser set up several tables with pink tablecloths at the entrance of the rink to promote the cause. The girls also designed special t-shirts for the Pink Out game that were sold for twelve dollars. Girls from Case Dorm participated by baking various cookies, cupcakes, and other baked goods while providing beverages to sell at the game. All the profits from these efforts went toward the American Cancer Society. Also available at the table were pamphlets that gave facts and promoted awareness about breast cancer and specialized ACS paper for people to write names of loved ones who experienced the battle firsthand.
The idea for the Pink Out game originated when Ms. Mullen suggested a fundraiser at a sporting event. It was not until varsity hockey player Kyle Lysaght ’09 contacted the chairs suggesting the hockey team partake in their fundraiser that the idea came full circle.
With just over three months left in 2008-2009 school year, Melly said, “We still have more fundraisers coming up which is a great opportunity to raise more money for such a great cause. So far we are planning on having a dress down day and perhaps hosting a dance, but we were very happy with the way this fundraiser turned out. We received a ton of help from all around and the event was definitely a success.”
