October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and DraftKings is getting on the action by re-launching its “Pink ‘Em” charity initiative in association with the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation. The aim of the initiative is to raise $100,000 for breast cancer research and awareness initiatives.
Pink ‘Em is, as the name implies, connected to a group of pick ’em pools that will feature games from week 4-8 of the NFL season. Players will be competing for a weekly $5,000 prize and each week DraftKings will donate $1 for every player who participates, up to $20,000. (With five Sundays in October, that adds up to the promised $100,000.)
In a recent press release, Jason Robins, CEO and co-founder of DraftKings talked about leveraging his company’s vast audience in the effort saying, “With millions of football fans playing on DraftKings every week of the NFL season, we have an exciting opportunity to leverage our platform to empower significant causes like Breast Cancer Awareness Month through our Pink ‘Em initiative. Raising over $330,000 for The Larry Fitzgerald Foundation with this program is no small feat, and I look forward to seeing our player community engaged once again to reach our donation goal this October.”
Former NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who lost his mother to breast cancer, spoke of the good that’s already come from previous Pink ‘Ems saying, “What we’ve accomplished already alongside DraftKings is inspiring, especially knowing our teams share the same ethos as we bring minds together to build vehicles that help the lives of others. October is a meaningful month personally and for my family, particularly after losing my mother to breast cancer in 2003. Launching the Pink ‘Em program over the past few years resonates with me and shows we’re on the right path to making a difference for those affected by breast cancer.”
This is the fourth time that DraftKings and the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation have teamed up on this project.