On Jan. 31, the Harrington Middle School gym went pink.
Pink nets, signs, basketballs, uniforms and t-shirts dominated the gym, all in an effort to raise money for Susan G. Komen.
The event wouldn’t be possible without the determination of a 16-year-old Mt. Laurel teen.
Madison Smith, a junior at Camden Catholic High School, organized the second annual Pink Out fundraiser with Mt. Laurel Basketball. The fundraiser took place during a day-long basketball marathon where all 10 of Mt. Laurel Basketball’s girls’ travel teams played.
The Smith family has been involved with the Mt. Laurel Basketball for many years. Madison played with the organization from kindergarten through eighth grade, and her father Frank runs the girls’ travel program. Madison credits her dad with coming up with the idea for Pink Out.
“He thought it might be nice to get (the teams) involved in something more than playing games,” Madison said. “We used to play in tournaments for breast cancer. So he was asking me if I would think I would like doing something like that.”
The event quickly transformed into a full-fledged fundraiser and basketball marathon. Pink Out is the only day of the year where all the travel teams play at home.
A lot of the proceeds from the event come from a gift basket raffle. Madison wrote to local businesses to ask for donated items to make gift baskets. Those in attendance at Pink Out had the opportunity to buy raffle tickets for the baskets, with all of the proceeds going to Komen. The event was first held in 2014 and raised about $2,200.
For this year, Madison decided to take a more hands-on approach. She came up with a contest where the teams would try to get businesses to donate baskets. The team whose basket received the most raffle tickets would receive a prize.
“This year, I took it a little more administratively,” Madison said. “We had a lot more baskets this year.”
Getting the younger girls involved in the event is important to Madison. Prior to Pink Out, the players decorate the gym. During the event, the players stick around before and after their games to sell snacks or raffle tickets.
Madison feels it’s important for the players to not only help out, but also understand Susan G. Komen’s mission.
“I just thought it was important for young girls to know more about awareness,” she said. “Even though they’re still young, anything they can do to help.”
Madison got involved with Susan G. Komen after researching breast cancer and the organization. She said raising money for breast cancer awareness was very important to some players who have family members who have been afflicted with the disease.
“The older girls have people they know,” she said. “A few people had an aunt or a family member who had cancer. They sent in donations or came to the game even though they don’t always come.”
The 2015 event was even more successful than the first year, raising about $3,000. Madison is already looking forward to next year’s event. She set a goal to raise $7,500 through the event before she graduated high school. She is a little more than $2,000 in 2016 from reaching her goal.
