Founded 2004 Website side-out.org | Type Nonprofit Organization | |
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Headquarters 3935 University Dr. Fairfax, VA 22030 | ||
The Side-Out Foundation, located in Fairfax, VA, is an American non-profit breast cancer charity that raises awareness and funds for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Side-Out fundraises mainly through volleyball-related events. Their mission, as it is stated on their website is, "to unite volleyball players and coaches and to have them work toward the common goal of furthering breast cancer awareness, education, and patient services." Side-Out has a board of directors and team of scientific advisers.
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History
The Side-Out Foundation was established in 2004 by West Springfield High School girls volleyball coach Rick Dunetz, after his mother, Gloria Dunetz, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
The Dig Pink movement was started by The-Side Out Foundation. On August 13, 2014 The Side-Out Story, a documentary about the Side-Out Foundation was published to Rick Dunetz's YouTube channel. The film also was shown at the All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival where it received an Audience Choice Award.
Activities
Side-Out's activities raise about $1.5 million for the organization each year. Since their roots are in the sport of volleyball their events and activities revolve around the sport.
Dig Pink Rally
The Dig Pink Rally is the Side-Out Foundation's fall event that brings together volleyball players across the nation to raise funds for breast cancer research, demonstrate the power of teamwork and show support for people with the disease. Each year hundreds of Middle School, High School, and College volleyball teams host Dig Pink events as part of the rally to raise both funds and awareness for metastatic breast cancer. The 2013 Dig Pink Rally raised $1.3 million from 925 teams across the country.
Dig Pink Tour
The Dig Pink Tour is the Side-Out initiative for club volleyball season. To support the foundation, teams that participate generally wear pink on the second day of tournaments. The title of "Tour" refers to the Side-Out team traveling across the nation to tell people about the foundation, show support for the volleyball community, and in recent year, conduct the Assist Project. The Assist Project allows team to bond while creating cards and raising fund to support the Side-Out mission. These cards are then donated to hospitals local to the teams who created the cards and are designed with raising the spirits of people affected by cancer in mind.
Rock the Pink
Rock the Pink is a grass volleyball tournament hosted by the Side-Out Foundation. It is also the Side-Out Foundation's first initiative having taken place every year since Side-Out's inception in 2004. Rock the Pink™ is held each year in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area at Occoquan Regional Park and the donations from registered teams go towards the Side-Out Protocol. In 2013, a second Rock the Pink™ event took place in Omaha, Nebraska in addition to the main one in Northern Virginia.
The Side-Out Protocol
The main beneficiary of the Side-Out Foundation is their own clinical trial, the Side-Out Protocol. The Side-Out Protocol focuses on the treatment of Metastatic breast cancer using Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine. The main basis of The Side-Out Protocol is using Personalized Medicine as treatment for Metastatic breast cancer and is one of the first uses of Proteomics in treating breast cancer. The participants in the trial had all previously received chemotherapy which did not improve their Progression-free survival.