The annual Pink Game has become a bit of an event for the Tornadoes and their fans, and a pretty lucrative one at that, as the crew handed off a cheque for $500 to Rodger Lohman of the Canadian Cancer Society last week.
“They have supported the CCS for many years, and with their annual Pink Game it’s always great to have a community, and especially young people, continue to help out and give us support,” Lohman said. “It teaches the importance of giving back and especially helping individuals who have cancer, which has touched so many of our lives.”
Tornadoes head coach Bert Redstone has been part of the Pink Game for years, first as an assistant under longtime bench boss Blake Buettner and now as the man in charge himself. Seeing the response to the game and what it stands for is always a touching moment.
“There are 58 kids on the team, we have 11 or 12 coaches and three or four managers, so for those individuals, when we kicked this program off I asked ‘raise your hand if you’ve had someone affected by cancer’,” Redstone said. “And predominantly, the entire group’s hands go up.
“So we know this affects us all, and it’s great to see the kids get on board. The managers kind of lead the charge and we all pitch in.”
While it might not be the thousands of dollars raised by groups like the Terry Fox Run, every little bit helps. And especially in this situation, the awareness is just as important.
“It’s an important aspect because it informs people to get checked out, get your mammogram done,” Lohmann said. “Because if you don’t, bad things can happen, and it’s important to have this awareness.”
“It’s not just about the money, it’s about the awareness and giving people hope knowing that young people especially are trying to raise funds and awareness to solve the issue,” Redstone added. “So it’s huge for the kids.”
And if the rest of the football teams in the province were to join in...
“If every team in Saskatchewan was raising $500, that would be a significant contribution,” Redstone said. “So we want to try and challenge other teams in our league to get on board, try and match us, and if other teams want to give it a shot and do better than us, we’re all for it.”
