Helping give hope to breast cancer patients

The Red Rhythm dance team went over to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF), a foundation that has provided over 1.7 million breast health resources to those in need to help women and men affected by breast cancer through early detection, education, and supporting services on Thursday.

One way that the NBCF aims to support those affected by breast cancer is “hope kits,” boxes that hold items that help patients through their journey. Yesterday the Red Rhythm dance team went to the foundation to help assemble those hope kits.

Red Rhythm director Nicole Nothe believes this opportunity will strengthen core values. 

But it’s such a great opportunity for us to just stop and focus on others and serving others in our community, as well as performing.

— Red Rhythm director, Nicole Nothe

“I think it would be a great opportunity for Red Rhythm to do more volunteering,” Nothe said. “It is difficult sometimes in the year because we get so wound up in our game schedules and our performance schedules. But it’s such a great opportunity for us to just stop and focus on others and serving others in our community, as well as performing.”

With 25 hundred kits set to go out, Red Rhythm helped start the process. NBCF’s volunteer program manager, Severina Ware, guided the team to do any prep work required for these hope kits.

So basically, the drill team is here today to kind of get us a head-on packing those 2500 kids that are going to go out,” Ware said. “So, each packing party, we do have about 2500 kids that go out. And the sole purpose of the team today, what they’re doing is basically getting us started by building boxes, tissue paper, any of the prep work that needs to go into those boxes.”

Raising awareness is one way to help support those battling breast cancer, but volunteering directly involved the dancers with the foundation’s goals.

Some members, such as senior Gabby Stiles, sees this as an excellent opportunity to give back to the community that supports them.

“So a big thing that we wanted to do was give back to our community because we do so much like for ourselves,” Stiles said. “But then, at the same time, it’s like we wanted to give back everything that we have to the community that supports us so much. And so that’s kind of why we wanted to do it.”

But then at the same time, it’s like we wanted to give back everything that we have to the community that supports us so much. And so that’s kind of why we wanted to do it.

— Senior Gabby Stiles

Junior Reva Kaburkar saw the opportunity to give back as a great way to bond with the team.

“Just hanging out with my friends, like, while doing something good for the community,” Kaburkar said. “I guess just team bonding and then, like, helping while team bonding instead of doing something just like, just fun. Like, we’re actually, like, helping, and it is so fun to be.”

 According to senior Kanen Braden, yesterday’s volunteer drive was just the latest step in Red Rhythm’s pink-out initiatives. 

“So during our pink out week we would do different things throughout the week to help and support breast cancer awareness and stuff like that,” Braden said. “And we decided to write cards to this foundation, and then we looked on their website and stuff and saw that they had this opportunity to pack these boxes. And we thought it’d be a great opportunity for our team to come and do this for them.”