“We Want To DO Something”: Spartanburg Donations To Benefit Those Battling Cancer

This October, the Spartanburg Vikings are making more than just a fashion statement.

As teams across the area put on pink gear to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Vikings head coach Mark Hodge took a little broader view. He saw a team with members across the board being affected by battles with cancer among family and extended family, including a trainer and an assistant coach.

“We wanted to bring more awareness of what’s actually going on,” Hodge said. “We wanted to do more than just put on pink.”

So he challenged each player and staff member to donate a minimum of $10 with a name that the donation would be in honor or memory of, to be donated to the Cancer Association of Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties.

No money? No problem. All you have to do is ask for help.

“I asked them just to let me know,” Hodge said. “We have providers who would provide that donation. But part of that is being man enough to come in and say I need help. Because ultimately, what we hope happens is that situation is down the road you establish yourself and you’re able to help another.”

The donations have topped $2,000, with every player, coach, and a number of faculty members meeting or exceeding the $10 goal.

“That money will go to any cancer patient who is in need toward the services that the Cancer Association provides,” Hodge said. “We’re trying to figure out whether we’re taking the captains to them and donate there, or if they’re coming to a game. But at the end of the day, every coach and player has donated a minimum of $10 for use there.”

The donations are a big deal. The dedications might be bigger. They’re certainly something that strike a chord with the players.

“I recognized my dad,” quarterback Trey Burke said. “He’s had two brain surgeries – one when I was five and the second when I was in eighth grade.”

Burke said he was happy to bring some attention to what wearing pink truly signifies.

“It means a lot, just from personal experience with my dad,” he said. “As a son, when it’s your father or mother, or even somebody my age, I feel like I understand it from a personal level. It’s not just a physical struggle, you struggle mentally.”

Teammate Skyler Douglas honored several family members with his donation.

“I recognized my mom, who had it about a year ago,” he said. “Her, and my aunts and grandmothers.”

Douglas, too, sees the importance of truly focusing on the fight against cancer.

“I’m just grateful they got through it,” he said of his family. “My grandma had it two or three times. I can appreciate it more, and feel like I have a better understanding that people can get through it. I just want to give people hope that they can get through it also.”

The effort is just another in a line of things the Vikings emphasize in a program that goes beyond the field.

“One thing we want to do with the whole program is make life-long differences and not just play football,” Hodge said. “I think most programs around this area do that. We want to look at where we are and what’s going on in our lives and use those things to teach. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, we realize that cancer touches everybody. One of my grandfathers died of lung cancer. My other grandfather, my dad, and my dad’s brother all had prostate cancer. Everybody’s touched by it in some form or fashion.”

That realization came with a call to action.

“We always want to be more than just a voice,” Hodge said. “We want to DO something. God put it upon us to do a little more. Let’s provide an opportunity for people who might be in need. It gave us an opportunity to talk about it some, and it allowed us to show some empathy, care, and concern by recognizing different people. We just felt like it was something that needed to be done.”

In the future, it might be done at an even bigger scale.

“I’ve actually talked to other coaches in the area, and it’s something that we’re potentially looking at combining an maybe doing together next year. I’ve talked to Gaffney, talked to Dorman and some others. I honestly didn’t know the Cancer Association existed. When we figured that out and got to talking, I think this is something that all our Spartanburg County programs could potentially do.”

Hodge thinks the effort could skyrocket with participation from around the county.

“We’re very blessed to coach in this area,” he said. “All these coaches care about kids and are doing their own different things to help in the world. I just feel like this is something we could collectively do, because it does fall right in the middle of our season.”