Every October, a sea of pink blankets the Moon Area High School football stadium. At the yearly Pink Out, pink is indeed everywhere — from the painted faces in the student section to the cheer squad’s pom-poms, to the matching T-shirts worn by hundreds of attendees. The Moon community’s event and fundraiser honors those touched by breast cancer while supporting research at Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI).

Championed by the students themselves — the cheer boosters, the football team, and band members — Moon’s annual Pink Out has gained steam since its inception in 2014. What began as a small fundraiser for a football player’s family member diagnosed with breast cancer is now a full-scale community effort, with students conducting most of the T-shirt sales. For Kellee Kanith, who has served as a Cheer Boosters board member for the past three years and is this year’s President, it’s a memorable and nostalgic cause she has enjoyed with her family.

“I just remember my own kids going to elementary school in their cute little Pink Out shirts, and we would buy them for the whole family,” Kellee says. “I have all the shirts from when they were little because this has been a tradition.”

Though the event happens in October, planning starts in July and is a team effort with the students. Jenn Stacy, who chairs the Pink Out committee for the boosters, sees the impact
of the effort and the influence of survivors’ stories on the student volunteers. “I just saw a lot of unity amongst them and positive energy,” Jenn says. “I mean, really, it’s an uplifting kind of thing to honor survivors and you could see it out there.” Kellee echoes this sentiment, adding, “For our girls to see that you can have a setback, you can have a health problem, and you can be happy and move forward and be positive — that’s amazing.”

Each year, the group attempts to beat their previous total, and students often suggest new ideas to raise more funds, like selling Pink Out trinkets or holding sales competitions. “The community works so entirely hard on this, and it has become bigger and bigger each year,” says Kerry Sparks, varsity cheer coach. But for Kerry and others in the stadium, the fundraiser is only one piece of what makes the event special. Before the game, breast cancer survivors from the community are announced and honored on the field with the gift of a flower.

Among the 25 survivors honored this year was Kerry’s mom, a breast cancer survivor of 27 years. As they walked across the field together, Kerry reflected on those 27 years she has spent making memories with her mother.

“Every step you take when you’re walking with that survivor, it’s like, these are the steps that they’re taking that they gained from this event because of what we’re doing,” she says. Kerry believes that Pink Out will only grow larger in the future. “[The students] want to show the support to the survivors to know that the Moon community is behind them and supports them,” she says. “You can always count on us to support the hospital and research.”