Benching For Breast Cancer Event Set For Dec. 7

Benching for Breast Cancer Web Site

WORCESTER, Mass. - The fifth annual Benching for Breast Cancer fundraising event will take place on Friday, Dec. 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the Hart Center’s varsity weight room at the College of the Holy Cross. 

Working in teams of four, students (who pay a $10 participation fee) solicit donation pledges based on how much weight they think they can lift. While wearing a costume, they compete against other teams lifting weights for prizes in three categories: best team costume, most enthusiastic team and most money raised.

“Last year we had 270 participants and raised more than $2,000,” says volleyball player Elizabeth Watters, one of the student organizers. “I wanted to get involved because cancer has directly affected my family. My mother is a breast cancer survivor.”  

All proceeds from the event will benefit Pink Revolution, a Worcester-based breast cancer alliance of dedicated individuals with a unified commitment to those touched by breast cancer.

Watters, a religious studies major from San Francisco, Calif., hopes to have more than 300 participants at this year’s event.  “We hope Holy Cross community members will come out and bench [press] and then attend the men’s hockey game,” she adds.

The men’s hockey team will play Penn State at 7:00 p.m. in the Hart Center.  During every home game the hockey team raises money through Power Play Points for PINK, where local businesses, community members, parents and alumni pledge money for any goal that is scored during a power play.

Benching for Breast Cancer is sponsored by The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and HC for a Cure. SAAC is a group of student leaders made up of representatives from each varsity team on campus. They work with the NCAA and provide an athlete’s perspective on the recruitment process, eligibility and other regulations that affect athletes.