Kelly green, royal blue and cardinal red are all taking the backseat to the color pink on Oct. 14. Why? Because the Green Valley gators and the Coronado Cougars lose their school colors that night to don the hue for a special cause.

The two rival programs have joined forces to “Dig Pink”—a breast cancer awareness month initiative held at gymnasiums nationwide. The fundraising effort was established by the Side-Out Foundation, an organization uniting volleyball players and coaches with the common goal to fundraise for the fight against breast cancer. The organization has currently raised more than $400,000 to benefit cancer research centers all across the country.

Writing a quick check isn’t the only way to help at Dig Pink, as donations can be made in a variety of different ways. Patrons will have the opportunity to buy tickets for a prize raffle as well as pink ribbons to post around the school’s gym in honor of a loved one touched by the disease. Pink merchandise will be out for purchase as well.

The fundraising doesn’t end at the bleachers, either. The court is where the real action is, and spectators will be able to donate “per dig” throughout the evening’s games. A “dig” is the act of passing a ball that is spiked (forcefully hit downward) over the net. Fifteen points wins a game—that means there’s at least 15 opportunities for the young athletes to earn some dough for the cause. All proceeds from these activities will benefit Side-Out.

Head Coach of Women’s Volleyball Erin Hill stated that one of her former student’s extensive volunteer work inspired her to bring the Dig Pink event to Green Valley High School.

“I saw all the volunteerism the girls in the program were doing. We really needed to jump on the bandwagon,” Hill commented. “We’re hoping for a pink-out!”

Green Valley and Coronado have set the bar high—their fundraising goal for the night is $3,000. You can help them achieve it Thursday at the Green Valley High School gymnasium or any day of the year at www.side-out.org. Junior varsity and B-team matches begin at 4:00 p.m., varsity begins at 5:00 p.m.