Besides Halloween, October is known as the month to raise breast cancer awareness. One of the best ways to fundraise for this cause is via sports teams. All over the world, sports teams from high school all the way up to the professional level fundraise to support this cause. Most teams host their own “Pink Out” games or even wear pink jerseys all October. The NFL sells pink merchandise and gives 90% of the funds to the Breast Cancer Awareness Fund. At South Shore, our very own high school volleyball team fundraises in honor of this cause. Every year, the team comes up with new ways to fundraise for this event.

This year’s Pink Out Night was October 12th against the Drummond LumberJills. Since the team only had a max of three home games, it was also their Parent’s Night. Prior to the game, the team started their fundraising. Pink ribbons were sold weeks before at school and local establishments. Anyone could donate whatever amount they wanted. Once they donated, a ribbon with their name on it was displayed on the trophy case glass outside of the gym for everyone to see. The team asked for baskets from local establishments. The baskets each had their own sheet with squares that people could buy. After the game, a drawing revealed the winner of each basket. The star basket of the night was filled with e.l.f. make-up. Each square was sold for $5.00, so the lucky winner of this basket was filled with joy because of the $100.00 value of the basket. The basket was brought in by Rylee Nicoletti, a junior, who knows Mike Ferraro, the VP of sales very well. Rylee commented on the donation, “Mike’s donation is not only important because make-up is something almost everyone loves, but its important because he cares about the cause and the team.” The team also had a variety of free pink treats and gifts for the fans who came to watch. Another fun way to raise money was the team “flocking” community members. They would decorate the person’s house with pink streamers and flamingos, leaving a sign saying they were “flocked” and had to raise a certain amount of money to be “de-flocked.” One of the victims being a former English teacher at South Shore, Dan Madison. He responded by showing up to the girls’ practice with $150.00 check, sarcastically commenting, “It only took me six minutes to come up with this money.” Two other victims of the flocking were The Port and Bev Igo, who both raised $150.00 as well. Overall this new fundraising technique brought in $450.00, which is nearly 22% of the total money raised.

The money raised all went to the Bernie Klobucher Gustafson Fund. Bernie was a South Shore graduate who passed away due to breast cancer. The fund was created in honor of her memory. The fund is used for scholarships to give graduates some help when they graduate. This year, the volleyball team raised a total of $2,071.66. This being a record high for the fundraiser. The team is very appreciative to everyone who donated money and came to the game to support the team.

That night the junior varsity team barely lost the first set, merely points behind. They came back though and dominated in the next two sets, winning the game. Next up was the varsity game. Before warm-ups, each player was announced along with their parents. Each player gave their parents a pink flower and stickers with a cardinal on it and the saying, “Proud Parent of a South Shore Athlete.” The teams then began their warm-ups. The first set started off intense with the score going back and forth. Sadly the team could not pull out the win and lost the first set. The varsity fought hard but ended up losing in the next two sets to the #4 ranked team in the conference. In between sets, they announced the history behind the Bernie Klobucher Gustafson Fund and how much the team raised. They also thanked everyone who supported the cause and night. Although the varsity team had to take a loss, they won the night in pink.