• What Is The Kicks Against Breast Cancer Initiative?
• How Can I Help? 
• How Can My Soccer Organization Help?
• How Many Pins Can I Buy?
• Who Will Receive The Profits From This Initiative?
• Who Is Organizing The Kicks Against Breast Cancer Initiative?
• What Is The History Of Kicks Against Breast Cancer Pin? 
•  Are The Pins Only Sold Online?
• How Do I Get More Information?What Is The Kicks Against Breast Cancer Initiative?

  It’s American soccer’s initiative to raise money to help find a cure for breast cancer and to help women living with cancer to survive and thrive. We are selling an elegant gold on gold soccer ball lapel pin with an enameled pink ribbon on it. The theme of the campaign is “Help Save The Women You Love.” and Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan, along with the women in his life, is serving as the first spokesman for the initiative.  

 How Can I Help?

Buy pins for your friends, family, teammates, colleagues and neighbors and ask them to wear them. Then encourage them to buy more pins for their friends, family and teammates! Re-order information is included with each pin. THIS INITIATIVE CAN ONLY BE SUCCESSFUL WITH YOUR HELP!

 How Can My Soccer Organization Or Company Help?

This initiative can only be successful with the help of all the soccer community. Camera-ready public service advertising materials for both print and online, as well as e-mail templates, are available for download. Run these ads in your publications and mailings. Create hangtags or inserts for your products. E-mail the offer to your members or customer lists. THIS INITIATIVE CAN ONLY BE SUCCESSFUL WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION’S HELP!

How Many Pins Can I Buy?

You can buy as many pins as you wish! However, they are sold in multiples of 10 for $30. Since all profits go directly to breast cancer research and patient support, there are no discounts or deals on multiple quantities or retail.

Who Will Receive The Profits From This Initiative?

All of the profits are donated to the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource  Center at Howard County General Hospital, a division of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center is located at Howard County General Hospital (a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine) in Columbia, MD and is a leading edge wellness model focused on helping women living with breast cancer and breast cancer survivors learn to cope with the psychological and physical side effects of this disease, including post-mastectomy scarring and prosthetics, hair loss, edema, exhaustion and other physical issues.

For more information on these important organizations, visit: http://www.cmcrc.org. 

 

Who Is Organizing The Kicks Against Breast Cancer Initiative?

The organizers are three women who have spent most of their careers in soccer: Louise Waxler, Founder and Director of the Kicks Against Breast Cancer college soccer tournament,  Connie Bivens, President of Sport Pins International, and Lynn Berling-Manuel, former CEO & Publisher of Soccer America Magazine.

What is the History of the Kicks Against Breast Cancer Pin?

The soccer ball with a pink ribbon has been the trademarked emblem for twelve years of the Kicks Against Breast Cancer college soccer tournament in Maryland . The Kicks tournament was developed by Louise Waxler as a fundraiser for the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center at Howard County Hospital in Columbia, MD. Her close friend Claudia Mayer had just lost her life to breast cancer when the first tournament kicked off.  The emblem in pin form had been donated to the tournament each year by Sport Pins International and given to each of the participating players and coaches.

How Did The Kicks Against Breast Cancer Pin Initiative Begin? 

 

Louise Waxler, long time tournament director of the Columbia Invitational in Columbia, MD , dedicated the Kicks Against Breast Cancer tournament to her friend, Claudia Mayer who died of breast cancer in 1996. The tournament featured top women’s college teams from around the nation including North Carolina , Navy, Maryland , Virginia and many more. In 2005 it expanded to include men’s college teams as well.

Lynn Berling-Manuel, CEO & Publisher of Soccer America Magazine was the keynote speaker at the 2005 Kicks Against Breast Cancer tournament banquet. She was so inspired by the commitment of the college players, the important work of the Claudia Mayer Center , the enthusiasm of Louise and the urgent need for resources to both find a cure and support the women enduring chemo-therapy and learning to live as breast cancer survivors, that she sought a way to help. As she wore the Kicks pin home on her lapel, several people asked her where she got it. She realized it was an emblem that all of soccer could rally around. The politics of the game can be fierce, but 30 years at Soccer had also taught her that soccer people answer the call to work together when the issues are big. She called Louise and proposed that the pin become the emblem of a national program. They immediately called Connie Bivens, whose company SPI has been providing lapel pins and other recognition awards to the soccer community for over 20 years. Connie and her husband Jon enthusiastically joined the cause.

But what finally made the initiative possible was that the Coast Soccer League of southern California offered to buy the first 2,500 pins, giving the project its starting capital. Then star Landon Donovan agreed to serve as the first spokesman for the initiative.

Are the Pins Sold Only Online?

At this time, the pins are available only online at www.kicksagainstbreastcancer.org. However, your organization can order in any quantity (multiples of 10) and is allowed to re-sell them at the face value of $3 per pin. Please allow two weeks for your pin order to be delivered.

How Do I Get More Information?

You can reach the Kicks Against Breast Cancer Initiative organizers at: 

 

Louise Waxler at louise.waxler@kicksagainstbreastcancer.org

Lynn Berling-Manuel at lynn@ayso.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connie Bivens at CBivens@sportpins.com