The Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team will host the Wheaton Thunder at 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 13, for the annual WBCA Pink Zone® game at the Shirk Center.
It is also "Seniors' Night" at IWU, honoring Christina Solari and Carrie Williams.
The WBCA Pink Zone® initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. To see the list of all PinkZone® games,
click here.
Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the IWU/Wheaton Pink Zone® game to lend visibility to the fight against breast cancer. Other pink aspects of the day include both teams wearing pink shooting shirt, the IWU team wearing pink uniforms, both coaching staffs wearing pink, and the arena featuring pink balloons and decorations. Pink bead necklaces will be given to the first 200 fans in the door, and Illinois Wesleyan art students will be on hand to paint fans’ faces with pink ribbons and basketballs.
How the Titans Helped
The 2009-2010 women’s team has partnered with Bloomington-Normal’s Community Cancer Center to add both service and fundraising components to the already-existing awareness function of the event. All money raised prior to and at the WBCA Pink Zone® event go directly to the Community Cancer Center.
Some highlights of the team’s preparation and fundraising efforts include:
• Creating and selling WBCA Pink Zone® t-shirts, with the slogan “Play like a girl, fight like a woman” on the back. The team was able to sell about 500 shirts.
• Obtaining pledges per 3-point basket made in the February 13 game.
• Touring the Community Cancer Center with executive director Barb Nathan
• Making fleece tie-blankets for patients receiving chemotherapy at the Community Cancer Center.
• Inviting over 500 Bloomington-Normal Parks and Recreation elementary-age basketball players to the game.
The team will also raise money for the Community Cancer Center with a silent auction. The silent auction will open one hour before the 5 p.m. tip-off and will be located on the concourse inside the arena. Some of the packages include a trip to Davenport, Galena, and a “Romantic Staycation” in Bloomington, along with many other generous donations made by Illinois Wesleyan University and Bloomington-Normal businesses. Bids will be accepted through the end of half-time, and winners will be announced immediately after the final buzzer of the women’s game.
In addition, a cancer survivor recognition ceremony will be held at the conclusion of the women’s game. Head coach Mia Smith and Community Cancer Center executive director Barb Nathan will address the crowd as members of the Titan women’s basketball team honor cancer survivors with flowers. The recognition ceremony is open to all cancer survivors, not just those who have battled breast cancer.
The 2009 campaign raised over $1.3 million, reached over 912,000 fans, unified more than 1,600 participating teams and organizations, and saw 56+ schools break attendance records at their event.
History
The WBCA began the WBCA Pink Zone®, formerly known as "Think Pink", in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities. Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, served as the catalyst for the initiative after her third reoccurrence of breast cancer in 2006.
In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. In 2008, over 1,200 teams and organizations participated, reaching over 830,000 fans and raising over $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research.
The 2009 campaign raised over $1.3 million, reached over 912,000 fans, unified more than 1,600 participating teams and organizations, and saw 56+ schools break attendance records at their event.
The WBCA's charity of choice is the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®, in partnership with The V Foundation. The WBCA strongly encourages all donations from Pink Zone games to be given to this Fund.
