Founded in 2004 by Jay and Teresa Abbott of Douglasville, Ga., after Teresa was diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer, Bulldogs Battling Breast Cancer (BBBC) has always been a unique, local charity. Every dollar donated (no hidden administrative costs, no salaries) goes to “Teresa’s Hope” Fund of St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, which provides free mammograms for women in need. BBBC's impact has always been on emphasizing preventive maintenance and stressing the importance of early detection.
“Every mammogram we are able to provide for the local community costs the St. Mary's Foundation roughly $100,” said Dwight Standridge who, along with his wife, Leslie, help the Abbott family run BBBC. “In 2018, we raised $125,000 which could potentially provide over 1,200 mammograms for women in need. We have really hit our stride in recent years. A few years ago, our yearly donation to St. Mary's hovered around $8000-10,000. But in just the last four years, BBBC has contributed right at $400,000 to the fight against breast cancer."
The BBBC Charity Golf Tournament at the Georgia Club each July—the charity’s largest fundraiser—is one of a kind in that Georgia football players directly participate in the event. The charity and its golf tournament, which was established when Mark Richt was the Bulldogs’ head coach, has grown exponentially over time. Still, as the organization has prospered during the 15-year period, there has been the occasional cause for concern, particularly, a few years ago, when a new head coach was named—one in which perhaps would be reluctant for his players to take time away from summer workouts to play golf.
“When Kirby Smart became Georgia’s head coach, I’ll admit, we had some nervousness because the golf tournament is so focal to our charity’s fundraising each year,” Standridge said. “But Coach Smart was great about it. He told us to count on proceeding with our event and we could count on UGA football to be a steady partner going forward. The UGA football players use our tournament as one of their community outreach events and we cannot say enough positive things about these young men. They are so giving of their time and always so polite, never turning down an autograph or picture request. Our charity continues to be so fortunate to have the partnership with Coach Smart and the players.”
The upcoming golf tournament marks the 15th consecutive year it has partnered with the Georgia football team and, like always, it features a typical four-person scramble format, whereby one of the four teammates is a Bulldog football player. In the tournament’s first year, less than 20 teams were fielded; however, for the last several years, it has maxed out at 45 teams in a matter of only days.
“In my experience, when a team has been paired with a quarterback or kicker, it’s been in pretty good shape,” said Standridge, who mentioned former players quarterback Matthew Stafford, punter Drew Butler, and placekicker Brandon Coutu as just a few of the several top performers in past tournaments. “Of course, a couple of the linemen have actually played really well too. One year, I played with big offensive lineman Clint Boling, who, being a little north of 300 pounds, had a great golf game—a fantastic swing.”
As BBBC continues to grow, so does its reach beyond the golf course to other athletic venues. Last year, the organization partnered with the UGA hockey team for their "Pink in the Rink" event, which promoted breast cancer awareness by helping raise approximately $10,000 during a weekend in October. That same weekend, UGA’s Paint Line and Spike Squad represented BBBC by painting up in pink for the Bulldogs’ game at Sanford Stadium against Vanderbilt.
“We had never partnered with another group besides the football team, and we had never been represented inside Sanford Stadium,” Standridge said. “So, to partner with the Georgia hockey team, and then with the Paint Line and Spike Squad inside the stadium all in one weekend, those were huge milestones for us last year.”
This year, BBBC will again partner with the same groups the weekend of the Homecoming football game on October 19 against Kentucky.
"We really have some great momentum and some cool events to look forward to in 2019 and I don't see any reason we can't surpass 2018's donation of $125,000,” Standridge added. “This year, it's $150,000-plus or bust—and we are already working towards that goal!”
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