|
|
|
Skinny Stewart Stadium was filled with pink Thursday as the Eagles faced the Velma-Alma Comets.
Pink ribbons were painted on the field, and coaches and linemen wore pink sweatshirts. Pink balloons and pink signs covered the stands and fences.
Players wore pink shoelaces and Under Armour, and cheerleaders wore pink shirts and hair ribbons.
It was the first Pink Out, sponsored by the football teams, student councils and Beta Clubs of both schools, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“Pink is my favorite color. It’s nice to wear something else,” said Alexandra Bare, Velma-Alma senior, cheerleader and state Beta Club president.
“I thought it was just wonderful. Everyone showed their support. We felt it was very successful, especially from two really small towns,” Wilson Pink Out coordinator Bree Labeth said.
Wilson students sold pink teddy bears and bracelets along with baked goods at the game to raise money. Velma-Alma students sold T-shirts and pink pompoms and took donations.
During halftime, the students from the two schools presented the American Cancer Society and the OU Cancer Institute with separate $600 checks.
“We are grateful to the young people who have gotten involved. They are our future and they have done a lot in these last couple of weeks,” said Teri Tolbert of the American Cancer Society.
The cancer institute is working with a program led by first lady Kim Henry called Oklahoma Students Care to raise awareness and money for cancer research. The money donated will be used for cancer research and a new lodging facility for adult cancer patients who cannot commute to the institute for treatment.
“Cancer has such an influence in our world that it will take our kids to do something about it,” said Von Allen of the OU Cancer Institute.
The students also provided resources at the game to raise awareness about cancer.
“We want kids to talk to their peers,” Allen said.
The students were happy to donate and raise awareness, as they recognize the impact cancer as had on their lives.
“My mom was a cancer survivor. It wasn’t breast cancer, but cancer is a big thing for me and my family,” Bare said.
The teachers also appreciated the event and the work their students put into it.
“It’s good for communities to do good things and help their own in a cause like this,” Velma-Alma Beta Club sponsor Denise Thompson said.
Skinny Stewart Stadium was filled with pink Thursday as the Eagles faced the Velma-Alma Comets.
Pink ribbons were painted on the field, and coaches and linemen wore pink sweatshirts. Pink balloons and pink signs covered the stands and fences.
Players wore pink shoelaces and Under Armour, and cheerleaders wore pink shirts and hair ribbons.
It was the first Pink Out, sponsored by the football teams, student councils and Beta Clubs of both schools, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“Pink is my favorite color. It’s nice to wear something else,” said Alexandra Bare, Velma-Alma senior, cheerleader and state Beta Club president.
“I thought it was just wonderful. Everyone showed their support. We felt it was very successful, especially from two really small towns,” Wilson Pink Out coordinator Bree Labeth said.
Wilson students sold pink teddy bears and bracelets along with baked goods at the game to raise money. Velma-Alma students sold T-shirts and pink pompoms and took donations.
During halftime, the students from the two schools presented the American Cancer Society and the OU Cancer Institute with separate $600 checks.
“We are grateful to the young people who have gotten involved. They are our future and they have done a lot in these last couple of weeks,” said Teri Tolbert of the American Cancer Society.
The cancer institute is working with a program led by first lady Kim Henry called Oklahoma Students Care to raise awareness and money for cancer research. The money donated will be used for cancer research and a new lodging facility for adult cancer patients who cannot commute to the institute for treatment.
“Cancer has such an influence in our world that it will take our kids to do something about it,” said Von Allen of the OU Cancer Institute.
The students also provided resources at the game to raise awareness about cancer.
“We want kids to talk to their peers,” Allen said.
The students were happy to donate and raise awareness, as they recognize the impact cancer as had on their lives.
“My mom was a cancer survivor. It wasn’t breast cancer, but cancer is a big thing for me and my family,” Bare said.
The teachers also appreciated the event and the work their students put into it.
“It’s good for communities to do good things and help their own in a cause like this,” Velma-Alma Beta Club sponsor Denise Thompson said.
Both Allen and Tolbert were impressed by the two schools’ joint efforts.
“How do you put a dollar amount on two communities thinking about cancer? Just the awareness is very significant,” Tolbert said.
“We see the football coach wearing pink at a game and modeling for young boys how to take care of a community,” Allen said.
As the schools’ seniors graduate, they hope the event continues.
“We want them to do better than we did, to try to one-up us,” Wilson student council president Malorie Shepard said.
Shepard gave the Velma-Alma student council a breast cancer spirit stick to keep until next year’s game in Velma.
Velma-Alma is ready to continue the Pink Out next year.
“I’m excited. I hope I get to come back and it’s bigger and better and more pink,” Bare said.
The students were satisfied with the event, yet there was one thing they would change — the weather.
“Most people are wearing pink shirts, but it’s so cold you can’t see it,” Labeth said.
Jennifer Lindsey, 221-6536
