Sept. 27, 2007
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech volleyball team will again partner with the Atlanta Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in an effort to raise awareness and funds to help fight the cause of breast cancer. The Yellow Jackets are scheduled to “Dig for the Cure” Oct. 19 against the Maryland Terrapins.
The following night, the Yellow Jackets will auction off a Mizuno golf bag and set of golf umbrellas, both of which were donated by Mizuno, with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Parents, fans, businesses and coworkers may pledge amounts for every dig the Yellow Jackets (as a team) record against Maryland, or they can make flat donations to the cause. Last year, Georgia Tech raised over $6,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation by recording 80 digs in the Yellow Jackets’ five-game win over 25th-ranked Duke.
“This was a great event for us last year,” head coach Bond Shymansky said. “I know that breast cancer will, at some point, touch the lives of every player on our team, so we need for them to be aware and fight the fight now.”
Pledges and donations for “Dig for the Cure” can be made beginning this weekend as fans enter O’Keefe Gym for the Yellow Jackets’ matches against Virginia and Virginia Tech, or by contacting Georgia Tech Athletics’ assistant director of communications Cheryl Watts (404-894-5445, cwatts@athletics.gatech.edu). Raffle tickets for the Mizuno auction may also be purchased this weekend.
Through the “Dig for the Cure” program, volleyball teams and coaches from around the country have helped raise more than $50,000 over the last four years for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. All money raised by the Yellow Jackets and every other participating team goes directly to the Komen Foundation’s local affiliate in their community.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, the Foundation is an international organization with a network of more than 75,000 volunteers working through local affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure® to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. Together with its Affiliate Network, corporate partners and generous donors, the Komen Foundation has raised more than $740 million for the fight against breast cancer.
For more information, call the National Toll-Free Breast Care Helpline at 1.800 I’M AWARE® (1.800.462.9273) or visit www.komen.org.
