Puma, WSP Aim to Kick Breast Cancer

The Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league and sportswear giant Puma are partnering to raise funds and awareness about breast cancer. Puma is mixing up its signature red with pink for the promotion, which officially kicks off tomorrow.

That's when the Washington Freedom women's soccer team plays at Harvard, and also when a related interactive forum goes live, while Project Pink items are already available for sale online.

PUMA will outfit top players in the North American league in Project Pink kits for all five WPS matches.

A trio of players—Karina LeBlanc, goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Independence, Amy Rodriguez also of the Independence and Leslie Osborne of the Boston Breakers—are also serving as spokeswomen for the initiative.

The public can also get involved in the pro-social partnership.

Supporters can nominate breast cancer charities with nonprofit status; the winner will receive 100% of the profits from the sale of PUMA Project Pink product. Voting will take place from Aug. 7 to Sept. 13.

“Giving back is an integral part of our brand DNA at PUMA," said Tara McRae, senior marketing director, PUMA North America. "Project Pink has resonated with the players, the fans, and our company. There’s a lot of personal passion driving this program forward, and we’re looking forward to finally taking it public and getting consumers involved.”

PUMA is encouraging use of hash tag #projectpink on Twitter. For each tweet using the tag, PUMA will donate $1 to the cause, up to $25,000. PUMA will count one tweet using the hash tag per user per day.

The Project Pink merchandise will be available through Breast Cancer Awareness month in October including Puma’s Project Pink replica jersey, tee-shirts in pink and white, trainer and (mini) skill ball, and gym sack.

"A number of my close friends and family have been affected by breast cancer," says LeBlanc. "I’m out here doing what I love, and any chance I have to be a part of a project like this to show my passion for what I do and link with a good cause is a no-brainer.”