UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University Athletic Department hosted the 5th Annual Breast Cancer Survivor Reception and Recognition Event on February, 16, 2013 in coordination with a home basketball double header contest during the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's Pink Wave week. 

Sixty-four awesome breast cancer survivors and their families came to the campus of SVSU to celebrate a journey of courage, hope and faith at an intimate reception and then on the court at halftime of the men's basketball game.

Commemorative t-shirts, other miscellaneous promotional items and raffle baskets were sold for a record breaking profit of $4,000 which will be donated to the Covenant Foundation Breast HealthCenter CARE fund.  To date SVSU Athletics has raised over $16,600 for the CARE fund, which provides mammography and breast cancer screening for under and uninsured women between the ages forty and sixty-five. As a result Covenant Breast HealthCenter has held three free screening days since 2010 and of the two-hundred eighty six women that have been screened, five have been diagnosed and treated.  The next screening will be held in Septemeber of this year.

This event was made possible by the generous contributions of our Cardinal athletics volunteers, student-athletes and sponsors including; Dr. Ernie Balcueva, Graff Chevrolet, State Farm Agent Karl Briggs, Residence Inn and Spring Hill Suites of Saginaw, Michigan Pipe and Valve and The Magic Bean Cafe.  Additional support was provided by Your Healthy Balance, Michigan Sugar, Arbonne sales consultants Beth Le Blanc & Angie