MLS "Go Gold" in September for 4th Annual Kick Childhood Cancer Campaign
For the fourth consecutive year, MLS WORKS – MLS’ community outreach initiative – is vowing to help the “Kick Childhood Cancer” campaign with a special league-wide program, which will occur all throughout September to raise awareness and funds to battle the disease.
This year's efforts benefit Children's Oncology Group, the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood and adolescent cancer research, uniting more than 9,000 experts in childhood cancer at more than 200 leading children’s hospitals around the world.
Similar to previous campaigns of major U.S. Leagues, such as the NFL going pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the MLS will “Go Gold” during this Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. This will see a number of changes to match day apparel and equipment across all of the fixtures.
The MLS have introduced a commemorative gold Adidas Nativo 2017 Official Match Ball and special gold corner flags and goal nets to be used during all games. Players and referees will wear Kick Childhood Cancer t-shirts during warmups, and Captains will wear a gold armband for the match. Coaches and training staff will also be provided with club specific Kick Childhood Cancer match day scarves.
Throughout the month, players will also be showcasing the commemorative gold ribbon jersey patch, which are available for individual purchase. Autographed, game-worn memorabilia will also be auctioned off online at the end of the month. Scarves and t-shirts, along with other Kick Childhood Cancer apparel, will be available on MLSstore.com and at select in-stadium retailers. All of the proceeds will go to the Children’s Oncology Group.
The #ScarvesUp effort on social media is also back. For every post used with the hashtag #ScarvesUp on Twitter and Instagram, holding up either a Kick Childhood Cancer scarf or any club scarf, MLS WORKS will make a donation to Children's Oncology Group.
This is yet another example of the teams and leagues in the U.S. utilising their global platform to preach strong messages about health and wellbeing. This campaign epitomizes the importance of community outreach programs such as MLS WORKS and paves the way for other sporting organizations around the world.