Pink Griffins Hats to be Sold to Benefit Breast Cancer Research

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. The Better Halves, a community service organization comprised of wives and girlfriends of Grand Rapids Griffins players and coaches, and JJ Communicate will introduce a new fundraising program for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Grand Rapids Affiliate during the Griffins game against the Manitoba Moose on Valentines Day.

Five hundred pink ball caps, featuring the Griffins 10th Anniversary logo and the familiar pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness, will be sold for $15 apiece at the Better Halves table and throughout the concourse at Van Andel Arena. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of each hat will benefit the Komen Grand Rapids Affiliate, whose mission is to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by advancing research, education, screening and treatment.

We are thrilled to partner with JJ Communicate and the Griffins to sell these 10th Anniversary pink ribbon hats to help raise awareness for the cause of breast cancer, said Denise Blunk, manager of the Komen Grand Rapids Affiliate. Beginning next Tuesday, Feb. 14, the limited-edition hats will be sold at every Griffins home game during the remainder of the 2005-06 season, or while supplies last.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women, with 211,000 new invasive cases occurring annually among women in the United States. Approximately 40,000 women and 400 men die from breast cancer each year. For more information, please visit komengr.org.

Previous Better Halves fundraisers this season have included Puck for Plates, which raised $775 for Guiding Light Mission through the sale of autographed pucks, and the annual Griffins Christmas Tree raffle, which generated $1,000 for the Santa Claus Girls, thanks in part to the support of Fuel Systems.