Miller Place's Dig Pink Raises $4,500 for Cancer Research

volleyball team raised $4,500 at their annual Dig Pink event to support a cause that’s affected many of the team’s extended family.

The fourth annual Dig Pink was their most successful yet, besting the $3,200 raised last year and surpassing their $4,000 goal. The money will benefit the Side-Out Foundation, dedicated to breast cancer research and awareness.

Dig Pink was brought to Miller Place by junior varsity volleyball coach Elaine Kelly and varsity coach Mary Anne Martin, whose lives have been affected by the disease and wanted to do something about it.

“My mother and both of her female siblings have it,” Kelly laments. “My mother in law has it too. I get a mammogram twice a year. I want to be very proactive.”

It wasn’t just the volleyball team that contributed; it was much of the school. The Service Club sold snacks and baked goods in the hallway and the National Honors Club, Future Business Leaders of America and local Girl Scout Troop 2269 all donated either time or money to Dig Pink. A Chinese auction was held with 75 prize baskets available. A poster contest was held among students to line the gym with cancer awareness messages.

“We started out with a bake sale and basket sale and it just exploded from there,” Martin added. “Elaine keeps coming up with more and more ideas.”

“The nicest thing you can say is it’s a collaborative effort,” Principal Kevin Slavin said. “The whole school came together for it. It’s something bigger than the school.”

The team wore special pink uniforms for the game. Shoreham-Wading River, their opponent, wore pink and white tie-dyes made just for the match. As for the game, the Panthers beat SWR, 3-0, to improve their overall record to 5-8 with the non-league win.

Fundraising went beyond the single event this year. Earlier the volleyball team held a car wash and they’ve been writing letters asking residents to donate to the cause. Before the day started the team had already raised over $2,000.

For Martin, it’s more about the awareness than the money brought in.

“It’s a big thing to educate the kids,” she said. “Boys, girls, all of them know someone who has been affected.”

Unfortunately, that became even truer when Andi Porzio, the school’s former volleyball coach who both Martin and Kelly credited with bringing the program to prominence, was diagnosed with the disease in July.

“It means so much more to have her here,” Martin said. “It hits home a lot more with this.”

Porzio was the guest of honor for the event. Both Kelly and Martin played for her in their Miller Place High School days.

Even though the event has passed the team is still accepting donations. Contributions can be made here.