JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sunday’s matchup between the Jaguars and the Packers marked the annual NFL Crucial Catch game.
The Crucial Catch game is part of a partnership between the league and the American Cancer Society to provide resources for cancer detection and to honor cancer patients, survivors and loved ones.
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As Jaguars and Packers fans made their way to EverBank Stadium, they were stopped by a few voices.
“You need a ribbon,” Kimberly Waterhouse, a Zeta Tau Alpha alumnae chapter member, said as she handed someone a small pink ribbon.
“I would want everybody that walks to EverBank Stadium to have one of these on,” Waterhouse said.
Waterhouse was joined by fellow members of the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha. The sorority is partnered with the NFL to bring awareness to early detection of breast cancer.
“It‘s really important because we not only focus on ’Think Pink,' but one in eight individuals are actually affected by breast cancer,“ Kina Paegert said. ”And it’s been written now that actually 16% of women under the age of 50 will be diagnosed with breast cancer."
Both collegiate and alumni members of the sorority worked to hand out nearly 10,000 pink ribbons with hopes of painting the area pink.
“I think success is really getting everybody to think about it,” Paegert said. “Think about talking to their mom, sisters, brother, dad, aunt, uncle, everybody. Just as an awareness because sometimes we take for granted our health. It’s really important that we generate awareness that you really think about going to your doctor for early detection.”
According to the CDC, breast cancer screenings have contributed to a nearly 30% reduction in the number of women with late-stage cancer.
In fact, almost 99% of women diagnosed with breast cancer at the earliest stage live for five years or more. While just 32% reach that level in later stages.
“So, we are young women who are passionate about telling everybody to think pink,” Waterhouse said.
The pink addition added another color to each team’s uniform, but it is one both Jaguar and Packer fans wear proudly.