In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, many of Andover’s teams have been donning pink apparel and joining efforts to support the fight against breast cancer.
Andover Field Hockey, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer and Girls Volleyball are contributing to the cause.
For the second year in a row, Andover Field Hockey teamed up with Middlesex to raise money for former Andover Field Hockey coach Olivia Achtmeyer’s foundation, Runway for Recovery. The foundation organizes fashion shows that benefit children who have lost their mothers to breast cancer. Andover’s players sold photos to their parents for $10 each to raise the money for Runway for Recovery. Together, Middlesex and Andover raised $870 for the foundation.
Hannah Beinecke ’12, Co-Captain of Field Hockey, said, “It’s important to be a part of something bigger than yourself. Using the game to raise breast cancer awareness was a fantastic way to do that. Olivia Achtmeyer is a truly inspiring young woman who has devoted so much of her time to her organization, and I loved that we all got to be a part of it.”
To go with the theme of the day, Andover and Middlesex wore white and pink jerseys as well as matching socks.
Greer McBeth ’12, Co-Captain of Field Hockey, said, “We all played harder out there because we knew we were playing for a greater cause than our team alone.”
Players for Andover Girls Soccer also wanted to contribute to Breast Cancer Awareness Month and brainstormed ways to help.
Fay Feghali ’12, Co-Captain, said, “Our coach, Lisa [Joel], gave us the idea that we should do something special for breast cancer awareness. We have seen other teams do it, and this year we wanted to do something special.”
The team decided to wear pink hair extensions to help support the cause. Each player paid $10 for the extensions, and all the proceeds went to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Feghali said, “I had recently gone to my hairdresser, and she was sponsoring pink hair extensions for breast cancer, so I asked her if she would be willing to come to Andover to do them for the team. We were not only raising awareness but also helping the cause financially.”
Boys Soccer wore pink socks in its game against Tilton School to spread awareness.
Will Poss ’12, Co-Captain, said, “It was nice to be able to raise awareness as a team for this terrible disease.”
Girls Volleyball will also don pink apparel in its upcoming game against Deerfield Academy. Players for both Andover and Deerfield will wear pink socks and headbands.
Co-Captain Jamie Shenk ’12, said, “The past two years we have worn pink t-shirts as our jerseys for our game against Deerfield, but I like our socks and headbands this year. We’ve worn them for our psychs this week. I really hope that this becomes a annual tradition for the program.”
Chelsea Ward ’12, Volleyball Co-Captain, said, “I’ve known a lot of people affected by breast cancer, and I think it’s really cool and for a good cause,” said
