Lung Cancer Awareness Game: Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football

Green Bay, WI. Team Draft is joining forces with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and Bellin Health to kickoff National Lung Cancer Awareness Month on Monday Night Football. While the Packers and the Chicago Bears continue the longest NFL rivalry on the field, spectators will be educated about lung cancer facts on the side boards throughout Lambeau Field. In addition to educating the fans about the facts, Bellin Health lung cancer survivors will help raise the American flag at the beginning of game and will be recognized during the 4th quarter. The recognition will allow the fans to visually see the hope, and the future of lung cancer–Survivorship.

Team Draft’s goals are to create a unique experience for participating survivors and to raise awareness on a local, national, and international level by using each game and each survivor’s story to weave a broader narrative about the state of cancer and the hope that now exists for those battling the disease.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. In 2012, Team Draft marked the occasion by launching our inaugural Survivor at Every Stadium initiative on CNN during a nationally-televised prime time special focusing on lung cancer and our National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer.

Leveraging our connections with the NFL, its teams and players and our relationships with many of the top cancer centers in the country, we arranged to have lung cancer survivors attend games at NFL stadiums across the country during the last two months of the 2012-2013 season. By the time the initiative concluded at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, more than 30 lung cancer survivors representing 30 cancer centers and nearly every NFL team had participated. Given the overwhelming success of our Survivor at Every Stadium initiative, we have expanded it beyond the NFL to the NBA, the NHL and MLS—and this year, London, UK! As part of our National Campaign, this celebration of survivorship raises lung cancer awareness, gives hope to those battling the disease, and shines a light on the important work being done at cancer research and treatment centers around the country.

Special thanks to the Green Bay Packers, Bellin Health, and the City of Green Bay, Wisconsin for joining forces with Team Draft to make this kickoff possible.

About Bellin Health and the Green Bay Packers:

“We are pleased to build on our relationship with Bellin Health with the goal of having a positive impact on the quality of life in our community,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy. “As two community-owned and locally governed organizations, we share a deep commitment to Green Bay and the surrounding communities. Together, we form a formidable team to encourage health.”

The two organizations have partnered on a variety of initiatives since Bellin Health became the official healthcare partner of the Packers in 2007, including youth athlete heart screenings; Make the Right Call 911, encouraging proper use of 911 in an emergency; the Packers 5K; youth bike helmet giveaways at Training Camp; and Packers Family Night.

Future initiatives encouraging health, wellness and safety will be presented to the public under the newly developed “Titletown Wellness” brand. The Packers and Bellin Health will work in collaboration to develop and support the initiatives.

“Through this partnership we have the resources and exposure necessary to have a strong and sustainable effect on areas of great need in our community. Together, we form a powerful vehicle to encourage health,” said George Kerwin, President/CEO of Bellin Health. “We’re proud to be the official healthcare partner of the Packers and appreciate the organization’s dedication to maintaining strong local ties and supporting actions that benefit us all.