The Redskins encourage all fans attending training camp on Monday to wear pink in support of the 20th anniversary of the Think Pink! Campaign. Those who attend camp will have the chance to celebrate and continue supporting the campaign's history with breast cancer survivors, ZTA members, past volunteers and other Redskins fans.
Aside from watching practice, fans will be treated to a variety of special events and opportunities, including the chance to take home branded lanyards and pink pom-poms and take part in a photo op with Mrs. Snyder and the ZTAs. Players will also be autographing pink jerseys after practice that will be auctioned off online in October.
When Redskins owner Dan Snyder purchased the team in 1999, his wife, Tanya Snyder, and a group of women from the Zeta Tau Alpha alumni chapter in Northern Virginia, devised a strategy to introduce the "Think Pink" campaign to the NFL. Their influence quickly spread, inspiring league-wide efforts to combat breast cancer and support those battling the disease.
Twenty years later, the same Think Pink campaign is kicking off its anniversary season. It's a way to continue the fight and incorporate every NFL team into a unified celebration of the work that's been done and all that remains.
The initial announcement took place at this year's NFL Annual Meetings, in Orlando, Fla. Snyder, herself a breast cancer survivor after being diagnosed in 2008, introduced the anniversary season in front of the other 31 teams in the league, presenting each one with a special pink ribbon plaque. Sherry Tilley, ZTA Foundation Vice President of Philanthropy, was also on hand to honor the teams that spread an "early detection saves lives" message to more than 8.5 million fans.
As the founder of this ongoing campaign and its milestone, Snyder has remained involved every year, standing outside FedExField each October to hand out ribbons, speaking with women going through various stages of cancer and attending the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation's All-Star Survivors Celebration, which honors breast cancer fighters and survivors.
