As some people may know, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Women for Women will kick off of their first annual Striking Out Cancer Softball Tournament this Saturday, Sept. 18.

“The Women for Women’s club is dedicated to promoting leadership, education and purpose as it pertains to being a woman,” said club president Megan Persons.

The Striking Out Cancer Softball Tournament was initially intended as a pun to continue their campaign to “Save Second Base.” They ended up fundraising for a cause a little closer to home. Camp Quality Michigan is an organization dedicated to giving kids with cancer and their families a real camp experience.

“I really stand behind everything that the club does in general,” said Kathryn Powell, a junior photography major. “The softball tournament is helping such a great cause, and we get to have fun doing it as well.”

Already they’ve been able to sell shirts and sign up over 20 teams to compete. They’ve also gotten multiple businesses around the community to donate to the cause.

“We are so impressed with the campus’s involvement and the community’s ability to really pull together,” said Kate Sartori, the Women for Women’s club adviser, commenting on the results of their fundraising efforts.

Items and services like T-shirts, oil changes, and gift cards have been donated and will be raffled off throughout the tournament to raise more money for the camp. The Marquette Co-op is donating eighty pieces of fruit that will be given away to the players of the first few games.

“We are so stoked to see how this turns out,” Sartori said. “We’ve received so much support from the campus and the community.”

Their fundraising isn’t over yet. Although they’ve already collected money from the teams’ sign ups and from selling t-shirts, there’s still a long way to go.

“We really need people to show up to watch the games,” Sartori said. “We’ll be selling some concessions, and raffle tickets for prizes. That’s where a lot of our money is going to come from, hopefully.”

Although the team brackets have already been posted, there’s still a lot students can do as a spectator. Women for Women’s club invite everyone to come and support their teams September 18th. The Striking Out Softball Tournament will be taking place at the River Park Sports Complex located on Hawley Street as a part of Homecoming 2010.

As a club, they’ve already made a presence for themselves on campus with their annual “Operation Second Base” T-shirt sales and the “Do You Have 8 Inches” hair drive, mostly catering to causes that affect women’s health or cancer in general. They have been awarded “Organization of the Year 2009-2010” and “Project of the Year” in 2008 for “Operation Save Second Base.”

“It shows us how to be women especially when life takes turns. We use our strengths and have our own definitions for what it means to be a woman,” said Justine Samek, a sophomore photography major.

For more information you can contact Women for Women’s presidents Megan at [email protected] or Sarah at [email protected].