Pink featured heavily among the spectators in the stands and on the jerseys of Ridgefield Raptors players for Breast Cancer Awareness Night, benefiting the Pink Lemonade Project, on Thursday, July 25.
The Pink Lemonade Project was founded in 2010 by a local physician husband and wife duo, Drs. Allen and Cassie Gabriel. Ridgefield’s collegiate wood bat summer league team also hosted employees of Waste Connections, which goes hand-in-hand with the Pink Lemonade Project.
“So for a $100 donation to our mission and our programs, a Clark County resident who’s a customer of Waste Connections can get a pink cart (recycle bin),” Pink Lemonade Project CEO Susan Stearns said. “Waste Connections will drop off the pink cart and pick up the blue bin and then an individual, actually residential and commercial customers, can show their support for our work and for breast cancer awareness and proudly show off their pink cart.”
The game resulted in a 12-3 loss for the Raptors against the Corvallis Knights. But, just like first responder night at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex, the real winners of the evening were the beneficiaries of the jersey auction. The Pink Lemonade Project’s jersey auction concluded its third year on July 25, with many in the crowd wearing previous jerseys they won in auction.
“We do our work only because of the support of local individuals and businesses to help us do our mission,” Stearns said. “So the Raptors are a good friend, and we appreciate the opportunity to really talk about breast cancer. The fact that it affects 1 in 7 women in the Pacific Northwest when the national rates are 1 in 8, and men get breast cancer, too.”
Stearns stressed the importance of being out in the community, educating women and men about their breast health and signs of potential cancer or breast health concerns, which the Raptors allow during a baseball game with jerseys worn for a good cause.
“We just love the opportunity to be out in the community and this is always a fun night,” Stearns said.
The Pink Lemonade Project serves southwest Washington and Oregon, with upcoming events found on its website, pinklemonadeproject.org/events, along with more information.
Prior to Thursday, the Raptors went on a historic, franchise-record 13-game winning streak but dropped three to the Knights of Corvallis, who sit atop the West Coast League. After the conclusion of the Columbia River Cup against the Cowlitz Black Bears in Longview, the Raptors travel to Yakima and then conclude their home season with a three-game series against the Springfield Drifters from Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 4, as the playoff chase heats up. Currently, the Raptors sit in fourth place in the south division at 23-19 after their July 25 game.
