"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Sequoyah Invites Basketball Fans

***"Sequoyah Schools Basketball"***

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma - Sequoyah Schools will once again participate in a nation-wide breast cancer awareness event by wearing pink shirts and holding events to raise money for breast cancer awareness in connection with their home basketball game on Saturday, January 31 at 4 p.m. at Sequoyah Schools’ The Place Where They Play.

“Last year we sold almost every pink t-shirt that we had and raised a total of $1,000,” said Gina Stanley, Sequoyah Schools’ superintendent. “It’s a great cause and something that we are proud to be a part of.”

The annual “Think Pink” campaign was launched in 2007 by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to utilize women’s sports as an arena to raise breast cancer awareness. College campuses across the nation each chose one home game as their “Think Pink” game to raise money and educate the public on breast cancer. Last year, the WBCA also invited high school girls’ basketball teams to join in and declare one home game a “Think Pink” game. Sequoyah’s girls’ basketball team has chosen Saturday, January 31 against Victory Christian as their “Think Pink” game.

Pink Sequoyah Schools’ “Think Pink” t-shirts will be on sale at the game. All proceeds will be donated directly to a local breast cancer charity. The Sequoyah girls basketball team will also be leading other fundraising events on campus in the week leading up to the game, including allowing teachers to wear jeans for one week for a $10 donation and hosting a breast cancer survivor’s reception and recognition ceremony at the game. Cherokee Nation’s Cancer Program will also be on hand to pass out literature on breast cancer and help with “Think Pink” events.

Sequoyah is currently searching for breast cancer survivors in the community to be recognized at the event. If you or someone you know is a breast cancer survivor and would like to be recognized at Sequoyah’s “Think Pink” game, contact Tera Shows, phone: 918@453-5542 or by e-mail: tshows@cherokee.org.

Sequoyah Schools, a boarding school for Native American students, originated in 1871 as an orphan asylum to care for children who were orphaned by the Civil War. Now known as Sequoyah Schools, it is named for Sequoyah, the scholar who developed the Cherokee syllabary. The school is regionally and state accredited for grades 7-12 and has become the school of choice for more than 400 Native American students every year. Sequoyah Schools is located five miles southwest of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. For more information call 918-453-5400 or visit the Sequoyah Schools’ web site.