Zeta Tau Alpha Partners with 21 NFL Teams to Tackle Breast Cancer and Raise Awareness

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Throughout October, collegiate and alumnae members of Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity for women will distribute pink ribbons and breast cancer awareness information at 21 National Football League games as part of the league's celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

ZTA's partners in the NFL this year include: the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars , New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans on Oct. 3; the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Washington Redskins on Oct. 10; Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 17; and San Diego Chargers and Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 24.

In 2009, ZTA became the NFL's official fan outreach partner, having worked with 29 of the 32 league teams since 1999. That is the year the organization's involvement with the NFL began as ZTA alumnae in northern Virginia joined forces with the Washington Redskins to hand out pink ribbons at an October game. Since then, the Redskins have turned FedEx Field pink every October to raise awareness.

In 2009, the Minnesota Vikings selected Zeta Tau Alpha as the recipient of the "Fans Helping Fans" Award during EPSN's Chalk Talk Luncheon. "Not only is ZTA a critical part of our breast cancer awareness game activities," says Brad Madson, executive director of community relations/youth football for the Vikings, "but our fans recognize the organization for its year-long dedication to early detection, making it the perfect fan outreach partner."

In 2009, over 1,570 ZTA members volunteered at 28 NFL games. Over the last 11 years, ZTA has disseminated over 1.8 million pink ribbons to professional football fans. Several teams also work with ZTA to facilitate breast cancer survivor recognition programs on game day.

Breast cancer education and awareness has been ZTA's official national philanthropy since 1992. THINK PINK! ®  is a registered trademark of the Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation. ZTA sponsors the National Series Breast Cancer Survivor Recognition Program at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®  events nationwide and has partnered with Yoplait®  yogurt and its Save Lids to Save Lives®  program since 2004.

For more information about ZTA's partnership with the NFL, contact Nicole Patterson, Director of Foundation Administration for Zeta Tau Alpha, at 317-872-0540 or [email protected]

SOURCE Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity