Breast Cancer Awareness for Sports Teams | DIY Pom Poms

In 2013, an estimated 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed among US women, as well as an estimated 64,640 additional cases of in situ breast cancer.

That year, approximately 39,620 US women were expected to die from breast cancer. Only lung cancer accounts for more cancer deaths in women.

(source)

So here’s just one way to give back through sports…DIY Breast Cancer Awareness Pom Poms.  Your team can either:

1.  Hand them out to the fans during October

OR

2.  Sell them for $1 a piece and give the proceeds to a local or national organization (like American Cancer Society).

These pom poms are super simple and only take about a minute to make.

Supplies:  pink ribbon (found at most craft stores with the party supplies), scissors, and a piece of cardboard. (The cardboard length will depend on how large you want each pom.  The piece I used was approximately 10 inches long.)

Wrap the ribbon around the cardboard SEVERAL times…again this depends on how full you want each pom.  (This isn’t an exact science and each one can be different. 😉 )

Once you have enough ribbon wrapped, cut it off the spool and use a small piece to tie around one end.  See the picture below.  Try to get this as tight as possible.

Cut the opposite end off with scissors.  See photo below.

Try to keep the ribbon folded in half as best you can as you remove it from the cardboard.  Then use another piece of ribbon to form a “handle”  about an 1″ or 2″ from the folded end.

That’s it!!

You could give these to each player to make at home or order some pizzas and do it as a team.

If making a craft isn’t an option, here are some other ways to raise awareness and/or money for breast cancer research: