What is Pink Out? Pink Out is bringing awareness to young women’s breast cancer awareness foundation (YWBCAF). Pink Out became a trend on October 30, 2009, when 42 schools turned their stadiums pink to honor their local heroes. The idea of Pink Out was made by the senior cheer captain of Mt. Lebanon. She asked her Athletic Director if she could turn their stadium pink to honor her mom and raise money for the YWBCAF. According to Khevin Barnes, “The magazines decided a new color was needed, and focus groups claimed that the color pink is soothing, comforting, and healing, so the pink ribbon has become the symbol of breast cancer.” That is why they picked pink to be the ribbon color. However, it didn’t start out pink. Originally, the ribbon was a light peach color. Pink out has grown over the years, and YWBCAF still has a goal to bring more participation and spread awareness.
At Larned High School, we have been having a Pink Out Night for a long time. Larned celebrates Pink Out at football and volleyball games. In 2019, Larned partnered with the local Pawnee Valley Community Hospital. Together, they raised awareness by handing out pink wrist bands, headbands, shirts, jackets, etc at the games. Larned hasn’t changed the ways we bring awareness to women’s breast cancer. For as long as principle Wilson remembers he said, “We have been doing the same thing just making everything pink.” Mr. Wilson has also mentioned that if anyone has a different idea, they can bring it to him, and he will think about it.
Football games are one of the biggest events where you can spread awareness and raise money for the YWBCAF. During football games people will sit and watch the games, and then at half time, people would go to either the bathroom or the concessions stand, and while they are walking to wherever they are going, they will walk past the YWBCAF and stop to listen or get some of the cool giveaways. People are trying to spread the signs and the symptoms so you can become aware of the disease faster, and therefore get treated faster. These kinds of events are a great way to raise awareness about signs and symptoms of breast cancer!
This year, Larned had a “Paint the Town Pink” event. The USD 495 school district encouraged everybody to wear pink to school and the football game Friday October 6. The Larned football team was very excited to play South Western Heights for the Pink Out game. Larned’s head football coach, Brady Keith, says “I would like us to put it all together and play a full game. We have been struggling to put together a full game and we need to stop getting all the penalties.” Coach Keith is hoping to leave everything on the field this Friday. On top of all this information Larned ended up winning the pink out game 48-8 against Southwestern Heights, making their record 5-1! Go Larned Indians!
