Friday’s pink out game means a lot to sophomore cheerleader, Izabella Martin. At last Friday’s home game the theme was Pink out to raise awareness for breast cancer awareness month.
Nine years ago Izabella lost a family member to breast cancer. This game is very close to her and her family’s heart but they still stay positive to carry on her aunt’s legacy. “Her influence so early in my life was positive so I’ve always looked up to her. Something my family says is ‘be like kelley’, which means to always stay positive,” said Martin.
Martin is a positive person and her aunt helped shape her into who she is today. ¨She inspired me to always stay positive. Everything she did, she was always joyful,¨ said Martin.
Events like this have many different impacts on people. In this case Martin´s mom, Rebecca Martin, shares how the FNL pink out game makes her feel, ¨Honestly, it is bittersweet, I think about my friends and family who have lost their battle to breast cancer, but it warms my heart to see them being remembered and honored during the pink out game,¨ Rebecca said.
The pink out game can also help students feel supported. Martin’s friend, Bailey Thompson, shares what she does to help raise awareness, “I go to events like the pink o that raise awareness and wear pink during October,” said Thompson.
Even the smallest thing can make people feel loved even through hard times. Even the littlest things can mean so much to people. ¨Before Kelley passed away, there was a football team that wrote her initials on their gear and played ¨for Kelley¨ during a pink out game – the Ray-Pec FNL game always makes me think of this and remember how honored she was that those players played thinking of her for that one game. Little acts can impact people in ways we never really know¨ said Rebecca.
If you were unable to make it to the pink out game, there are many other ways that you can help. “Donate. There are thousands of different donations for breast cancer research. There are also thousands of different cancers. You can donate blood, bone marrow or money”, Martin said.
If you want to help breast cancer research and support there are many ways you can do that, ¨We make donations to The Susan G Komen organization annually – funding breast cancer research and support groups. For many years we’ve done the Race for the Cure as well, ¨ said Rebecca.
The pink out game is a great way to help raise awareness for breast cancer and show support for those affected by it.