By: centraljersey.com
The Hamilton Girls Softball Association held its 5th annual Playing for the Pink breast cancer awareness tournament donation check presentation at the Susan G Komen for the Cure offices in Lawrenceville.
As part of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s Passionately Pink for the Cure program, Playing for the Pink unites youth fast-pitch softball teams in fundraising for breast cancer research, education and awareness. This year’s two-day event involved over 1,040 players from the tri-state area participating on seventy-eight teams in the 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U brackets as well as national and local corporate sponsors, businesses, vendors and volunteers in Hamilton, Ewing and the Mercer County area.
Playing for the Pink teams were required to pay a reduced entry fee and encouraged to fundraise above the entry fee to help support local breast cancer research and awareness. The Playing for the Pink players spent the weeks immediately preceding the tournament engaged in bake sales, walk-a-thons, hit-a-thons, can shakes, car washes and hosting softball clinics striving to raise funds for the cause.
"It is important to our league that our players learn to give back to the community that supports their softball endeavors year round," Playing for the Pink’s tournament director Tara Lavin said. "As female softball players, they have the unique ability to use their sport to help make a difference in the fight against a disease that currently affects one in eight U.S. women.
"We continue to be astounded by the support the local softball community has given this effort."
The tournament benefits two local breast cancer charities – Susan G Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey and the Princeton YWCA Breast Cancer Resource Center. Together, these charities have been the recipients of over $180,000 from Playing for the Pink since the tournament began five years ago.

