FARMINGTON — Members of the Mt. Blue High School field hockey team are joining four other high school teams for the second annual Battle for Breast Cancer Tournament.

The tournament takes place from 3:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 27, at Colby College in Waterville.

Until the round robin benefit tournament, team members will be busy raising funds and learning more about the tournament’s beneficiary, the Martha B. Webber Breast Care Center, a program at Franklin Memorial Hospital.

Three team members, Hailey Chaney, Rileigh Blanchet and Alyssa Williams toured the center at the hospital Wednesday with the center’s care support nurse, Jamie Lucas.

The team is holding  a car-wash, bake sale and bottle drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 14. The car wash takes place at Bouffard’s Furniture and the bake sale at Save-A-Lot. Bottles will be accepted at both sites or at Ron’s Market Redemption Center.

They recently held a bake sale at Calico Patch and accepted donations at Verso Paper and raised $1,000, Rileigh Blanchet said.

With only four teams participating in the debut tournament last year, more than $17,000 was raised for the center, volunteer Liz Richards said.

“All funds raised will be used for working people diagnosed with breast cancer at the Martha B. Webber Breast Care Center who are uninsured or under-insured,” Janis Walker, Franklin Community Health Network interim fund development director said.

Five high school field hockey teams are participating this year including Skowhegan, Winslow, Lawrence, Nokomis and Mt. Blue.

Paula Doughty, Skowhegan High School field hockey coach and a resident of Farmington, developed the idea after talking with other coaches who held similar events in their communities.

“They raved how beneficial it was, not only for the community but for the girls participating,” Doughty said in a release. “It raised a lot of awareness about breast cancer.”

Last year at the end of the tournament, all players went on the field and released inspirational balloons carrying messages of hopes, prayers and memories, Richards said.

“It was very moving,” she added.

Richards provided the team players with information about breast cancer before the tour began. For example, one in eight U.S. women and one in 1,000 men will develop breast cancer. 

She quizzed the girls about the two main factors. First being a woman and second is age, Blanchet answered.

The Webber family created an endowed fund for the support of the breast center in 2004 in memory of Peter Webber’s late wife, Martha, who passed away as the result of breast cancer in 1995.

The center offers state-of-the-art digital screening, diagnostic mammography, breast ultrasounds, clinical and care support services.

Peter Webber and Kate Webber Punderson will address the student-athletes and fans at the start of the tournament. Cost to attend the tournament is $5 for adults and $2 for children.

Along with the fundraisers, team members are seeking donations for the tournament and approaching businesses for sponsorship.

Online donations can be made through the FCHN website, www.fchn.org/donate. Scroll down to select the Battle for Breast Cancer Field Hockey Tournament and specify Mt. Blue as the team to support.

Checks made out to Franklin Community Health Network also can be sent to Donna Williams, Mt. Blue Parent Contact, 97 Farmington Falls Road, New Sharon, ME 04955.

They can also be mailed to the Fund Development Office, 111 Franklin Health Commons, Farmington, ME 04938. For more information, contact Walker at 779-2750.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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