Pink Out: Fort Mill, NaFo raising money for cancer research in October

The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets football team will face the Nation Ford Falcons during the annual Pink Out game Oct. 9 which raises money for cancer research.

For the sixth consecutive year, Fort Mill High will partner with the American Cancer Society and the NFL’s A Crucial Catch program, which raises money and awareness of annual screenings, early detection and breast cancer education, said Kay Click, a Pink Out coordinator. The theme of the night is One Night – Two Fights.

“It’s going to be a big game,” she said.

This year’s event will be held in partnership with Nation Ford High.

Fort Mill’s Pink Out event started in 2009 as an effort to honor a Fort Mill High School teacher diagnosed with breast cancer, Click said.

“Every year, it has grown from there,” she said.

Until 2013, the school raised funds for York County Cancer Center, which has since closed.

A Crucial Catch, which launched in 2012, aims to raise awareness for the American Cancer Society’s Community Health Advocates implementing Nationwide Grants for Empowerment and Equity program, which seeks to educate women on the importance of breast cancer screenings and provide low-cost or free screenings, according to the NFL.

“It started out as a football event, but we are making it more of a community event,” Click said.

Last year, Fort Mill High School was the No. 2 fundraising school in the United States, raising $8,100 and helping provide 124 mammograms for women in the community, Click said. This year, Fort Mill’s goal is to come in first.

“We’re trying to spread awareness that early detection is key,” Click said.

The school has already begun fundraising efforts by participating in a guest bartender event at grapevine Wine Shop/Wine Bar in Baxter in June and will hold the inaugural Pink Out Yard Sale from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 3 at Firestone in Fort Mill, Click said.

Fort Mill will also sell Pink Out T-shirts at all home JV and varsity football games until game night, Click said. Bracelets, pink Carolina Panther cups and other items will also be for sale at the Pink Out event, with all proceeds benefiting the A Crucial Catch program.

Nation Ford will sell T-shirts with the theme Beat Cancer, Beat Fort Mill at the school ahead of the Pink Out game, said Holly Bentley, Nation Ford Spirit Club coordinator.

“We’re putting our small town rivalry aside and coming together for a better cause,” she said.

Fort Mill’s Pink Out game will include recognition of those with ties to both schools who have died and those who have been diagnosed with the disease, Click said.

“We honor all breast cancer survivors,” she said.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Pink Out: Fort Mill, NaFo raising money for cancer research in October."