SUNYIT Women's VB Raises Money Towards The Fight On Breast Cancer

The SUNYIT women’s volleyball team surely ‘digs’ the idea of helping support the cause to ‘kill’ cancer, as they have participated in two events during the last week in an effort to raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness.

On Wednesday, October 14, the team joined hundreds of SUNYIT students, faculty and staff to participate in the American Cancer Society’s annual “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.” Between the walk, a bake sale and a raffle, SUNYIT’s “Team Violette,” a campus-wide group, was able to raise $3,350 in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

The Lady Wildcats also held a ‘pink’ volleyball match against Oswego State this past Tuesday. The event was in conjunction with the Side-Out Foundation's “Dig Pink” campaign, a Breast Cancer Awareness rally being held all of October to raise awareness and funds. Both teams wore pink jerseys for the match and auctioned them off at the conclusion of the contest, with a bake sale and a Chinese Auction also taking place as well. The Wildcats raised $2,500 in total from the event, with $1,100 coming from the night’s activities and an additional $1,400 received through their donation page on Side-Out's Web site.

“It was an honor to be a part of these two wonderful events,” said Head Coach Becky Fletcher. “I think the ‘Making Strides Walk’ was a great opportunity for my women to show their support on campus and also be involved with other students, faculty and staff in the process, and ‘Dig Pink’ was a great success. It was so exciting to have such a great turnout at the event and see the community support both the Wildcats and the fight against breast cancer.”

“The ‘Dig Pink’ match was such a fun way to raise money and awareness for a great cause,” added freshman Brooke Johnson (Fredonia, NY/Fredonia), who also celebrated her 18th birthday during the event and had her jersey go for the highest bid of the night at $150. “I hope it’s something our team can do every year.”

The Wildcats are currently 15-10 overall. They will close out their regular season when they host a tri-match this Saturday. The team will host Morrisville at 9:00 am before squaring off against Cobleskill at 11:00 am. The day’s action will conclude with Morrisville taking on Cobleskill at 1:00 pm.

Started in 1993, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is a noncompetitive walk to help fight breast cancer and provide hope to people facing the disease. To date the event has helped raise over $300 million to help fund cutting-edge research, provide up-to-date cancer information and education, advocate for all people to have access to critical cancer screenings and follow-up care, and offer free programs to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. (Courtesy of Making Strides)