about-tournament-hope

Tournament for Hope Mission Statement

The Tournament for Hope is not your average select basketball tournament. The focus of this tournament is not basketball. It is awareness and education! We want the girls to become empowered to educate their communities about a devastating disease that strikes 1 in 8 women. The Tournament for Hope organizers and sponsors see basketball as more than a game: it is a vehicle for hope, education and empowerment.

Dear Friends,

The Austin Wildcats basketball organization takes great pride in developing not only the player but, more importantly, the person. By using basketball as a vehicle we aim to teach kids life lessons: teamwork, dedication, community awareness, dealing with adversity, and personal responsibility. Recently a dear friend of the Austin Wildcats was diagnosed with breast cancer. We decided the best way to help was to once again use basketball to educate the youth and adults in our program while at the same time raising awareness and funds for the treatment of breast cancer in Austin.

More than 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their life and currently Austin does not have one facility dedicated to the treatment of breast cancer. This forces patients to travel throughout the state during their treatment period instead of staying close to their families in their hometown. Seton Medical Center Austin is fixing this problem by developing The Seton Breast Cancer Center at its 38th Street facility. The Seton Fund is raising money for the construction and equipment needed, and the Austin Wildcats has partnered with the Seton Fund to raise money for The Seton Breast Cancer Center.

Last spring we held our first annual Tournament for Hope to raise money for this great cause. With the help of wonderful friends, sponsors, and players we were able to raise over $22,000! 100% of the proceeds were donated to The Seton Breast Cancer Center at Seton Medical Center Austin through the Seton Fund. This was one of the proudest moments in our organization's history. We hope to surpass the money raised this year in the second annual Tournament for Hope in 2012.

The second annual Tournament for Hope will be a two-day, all girls tournament scheduled for March 31 and April 1, 2012. We want to make this tournament bigger and better than last year. We need your help to raise money and meet our ambitious goal of $50,000. Any donation, large or small, is greatly appreciated! We are also looking for sponsors. If you are interested or know of people who would be interested in donating money, items, or becoming a sponsor please contact Kathy Erickson at kathyerickson@austinwildcats.org or (512) 529-9251.

With your help we can reach our goal and help to make The Seton Breast Cancer Center at SMCA a reality!

Best Regards,

Kathy Erickson

Tournament for Hope Chair