Every October, the North Gwinnett High School Relay for Life team hosts a “pink out” during a football game in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Tonight, that pink out game will take place at the North Gwinnett field in Suwanee, with nationwide coverage from ESPN 2 as the No. 30 ranked North Gwinnett Bulldogs (3-4) take on the No. 1 ranked Collins Hill Eagles (7-0).
Mrs. Lindsay Davis teaches language arts at North Gwinnett High School and heads the NGHS Relay for Life Team.
“My mother, Dawn P. Gober, passed away from lung cancer five years ago,” said Davis, who was on the R4L team when she attended NGHS as a student and has been the club’s sponsor for two years. She and her students have been hard at work preparing goody bags and other gifts for tonight’s event, as well as handling logistics to honor cancer survivors in the community. “It still breaks my heart to know she’s missing out on seeing her granddaughters grow up.”
The team raises money throughout the year, but this event is focused on honoring and supporting survivors. With a focus on community fighting together, the NGHS team will host a survivor reception and honor those survivors on the field at 7:30 p.m. prior to tonight’s game.
“Our team always fights hard, but this year we have a reason to be even louder: one of our team captains and school administrators, Kirsten Baker, became a cancer survivor in May,” Davis said. “We have several other staff members who are survivors as well, and it makes it that much more personal and important to make a difference.”
The NG Relay for Life is the top high school R4L team in the United States. The team typically raises $100,000 or more per year but saw a dip in their fundraising in 2020, taking in about $20,000. The team hosts several fundraising events throughout the year and is the recipient of allocated funds from other benevolent groups.
Davis added, “When my mom was diagnosed, there was only a 4% five-year survival rate for her type of cancer. Because of Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society, that number jumped to almost 20% a year or so ago. It’s still not that high, but that means that we are getting more time with our loved ones, and that’s exactly why we all do this as a team – we don’t want others to hear the words, ‘You’ve got cancer.’”
Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN 2 at 8 p.m. EST. Anyone who is a cancer survivor can participate by simply registering onsite prior to the 7:30 recognition.
Quick facts:
- Game time: 8 p.m.
- Location: North Gwinnett High School, Suwanee
- Tickets: $7
- Available at gofan.co
Anyone can join the NGHS team or donate to their cause at: tinyurl.com/ngr4l.
