Pink’s the new Blue in Ishpeming

Pink is the new blue in Ishpeming, at least for one night.

The Hematites’ home field was decked out in magenta from top to bottom ahead of their game against the Gwinn Modeltowners. Pink sweatshirts, hats, gloves, and glowsticks lined the field all the way to the top of the rafters to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Night.

“We came up with this idea last year. The Hematites are all about paying it forward. Cancer has hit our community, with a lot of the members on the team, so we decided ‘This is a way that the Hematites could pay it forward,'” noted Connie Bertucci, Secretary to the Superintendent for Ishpeming Public Schools. “The money we raise goes towards Cancer Care of Marquette County.  We sold pink T-shirts that say ‘Fight Like a Hematite’ and then we’ll have a miracle minute at halftime where all the proceeds also go to Cancer Care of Marquette County.”

There were plenty of pink buckets and support to go round. While the kids enjoyed sporting their fuchsia-filled gear on the field, all the credit goes to the ones who have spent a lifetime supporting them.

“Actually it’s the moms who have kids on the team. Last year we surprised them. The boys didn’t know they were getting the pink jerseys. The knew they were going to be raising money for Cancer Care, they just didn’t know they were getting the jerseys until they came out of the locker room. That was a big surprise,” Bertucci added. “This year we decided to extend it a little bit and paint the bleachers pink as well. It’s great. We were kidding around that pink is the new blue and we’re all proud to wear blue, and it’s great that we can do it to support Cancer Awareness.”

The bright, rosy colors were hard to miss and seemed to make everyone aware of what the night was really about. All the proceeds raised for Cancer Care of Marquette County will help uninsured and under–insured cancer patients in the area pay their health care bills, with 95 to 99 percent of every dollar going directly to patient care and early diagnosis programs.