MILWAUKEE — Community leaders are coming together to support colorectal and prostate cancer awareness with a little friendly competition.
The Inter-generational Health Fair and Charity Basketball game will tip-off on Saturday, March 15 at Milwaukee Lutheran High School. Doors open at 9 a.m. and the game will begin at 10:30 am.
“This event is about so much more than just basketball,” said Quinn Taylor, community violence prevention program coordinator for The Office of Community Wellness & Safety. “It’s about saving lives and strengthening communities.”
Organizers told TMJ4’s Sydni Eure why this event is a great opportunity to raise awareness for a cause that impacts so many families.
“Most of my uncles have battled prostate cancer,” said Kyle Ashley, community outreach director for the Milwaukee County executive. “I expect to battle it at some point, so to be able to talk about this and highlight it in the community means a whole lot.”
A main focus of Health Connections Inc.’s Slam Dunk Screenings event is to remind the community how important early detection can be.
Watch: Community leaders matchup against colorectal and prostate cancer
“We need the community to know the importance of getting tested,” said Ericka Sinclair, founder and CEO of Health Connections Inc. “It’s not what it used to be—you can get a blood draw.”
While the focus of the event is health and wellness during Colorectal and Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Ericka said basketball is another major draw, especially since it falls during March Madness.
“Having it through sports is just easy, and it made sense,” Ericka said. “I’m a huge basketball fan.”
Teams will be made up of community leaders from across Milwaukee.
“We’re just coming out to represent,” Kyle said. “It’s unfortunate that we have to defeat such a strong group of community leaders.”
And that’s where the friendly competition comes in.
“Yeah, I think it’s going to be a good game,” Ericka said. “You have to come see these people play. You see them in the streets doing things for the community—now you have to see them on the court.”
“The real winners are all the people there getting information about the cause and starting conversations,” said Kyle Hayden, pathway advisor at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
“It takes a village, and having those conversations with folks who may have gone through fighting cancer is important,” Kyle Ashley said. “I learned from my uncles, seeing them every day. My father is a cancer survivor. Just seeing him gives me inspiration. I want to talk about it to other folks again because they’re still here, you know what I mean? They’ll be in the crowd, so I’m excited I get to play for them.”
To learn more about how you can support the Inter-generational Health Fair & Charity Basketball Game or get tickets for the game, you can visit their website by clicking the link.
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