DEARBORN — Play for the Cure, a charity group that was started by Dearborn resident Shireen Hachem and her husband Bassel Hachem, helps spread awareness on the serious conditions of breast cancer by bringing together young women in the community in a unique way. The women compete in a yearly football tournament hoping to raise proceeds and spread awareness on the fight against breast cancer. 

Around 45 females between the ages of 16-29 have been practicing for the last three months to prepare for the tournament that will pit Dearborn against Dearborn Heights on Sunday, October 28th at Fordson High School. Shireen Hachem tells The Arab American News that the charity group has come a long way since it was originally started in 2009, before they had come up with a name for the group.

According to Hachem, the idea of the charity group came about when she and a few of her friends had wanted to gather young women in the community for a good cause. Playing a sport in honor of a good cause became the main objective after Hachem realized that many females in the community had expressed interest in wanting to be involved in sports.

“The first year we did this, we were asking people to join us just so we could have enough people to make up a team. But somehow more people began hearing about the group through word of mouth. Now we have to hold try-outs every year because so many people in the community want to be involved in the game somehow. It gets very competitive…the winners of the game get their own trophies and it’s really like a league for them,” Hachem stated.

Every October the charity group plays in order to spread awareness on breast cancer. In the past,  proceeds made during their games were donated to Komen for the Cure, a national organization dedicated to spreading awareness and fighting breast cancer. Hachem says while they do ask for proceeds to donate towards the cause, the main priority of Play for the Cure is to educate the masses about breast cancer. 

“During the games we like to focus on breast cancer awareness. We pass out a lot of literature and we engage the crowd by having them participate in raffles or auctions. Half of the time people donate money to a cause and they know nothing about it, but our goal is to make people come out so they can understand and be educated about the cancer,” Hachem added. 

Hachem says several of the girls playing on the field are doing so because they know people who were personally affected by some form of cancer. 

“For this upcoming game some of the girls are playing for personal reasons. One player lost her mother four months ago, another player lost her uncle to brain cancer some time ago. These girls are playing from the heart and are doing everything they can to make it a fun game while also keeping a competitive spirit alive,” Hachem stated.

A team of  females representing Dearborn are playing against a team of females representing Dearborn Heights. But according to Hachem, players and supporters are starting to come out from varying cities, ranging from Farmington Hills, Westland, Allen Park and Garden City, that they might change the name of the teams in the future. Hachem herself is a player this year for the Dearborn Heights team, despite being a Dearborn resident. Her husband Basil is one of the four coaches on the Dearborn Heights team as well.

One player on the Dearborn team, 21-year-old Samira Faraj, says that her team mates have been practicing and preparing for the game for over three months at least five times a week at the Ford Woods park in Dearborn. Two weeks ago while practicing for the tournament, she sprained her leg had had to see a doctor, but she says that hasn’t stopped her from playing in the tournament.  Faraj is playing in honor of her father, who passed away from cancer when she was younger.

“I play because I had a personal experience with losing someone from cancer. It motivates me to help raise money in order to make it easier for people who are battling cancer and going through tough times. Spraining my knee is nothing compared to what these people have to experience,” Faraj stated. 

Hachem says she’s gotten so busy practicing for the tournament that she’s had to reach out for help in order to keep the charity group running smoothly. Hachem’s friend Farah Jalloul, 23, of Dearborn Heights, has been responsible for the paperwork, organization and PR of the group for the last few months. Jalloul says it’s her way of giving back without having to play the in the game.

“I love doing charity work but I don’t like playing sports and Shireen is very busy practicing for the game, so this is my own way of contributing. It’s amazing to see how far we have come in just a couple of years. At the end of the day, everyone involved in this game is a winner because we are all fighting for the same cause,” Jalloul stated.  

Hachem says that it’s not just females looking to get involved. Since the group has been growing through word of mouth,  more males are also trying to get involved by offering to coach the teams or  participate in the games by being male cheerleaders. 

Play for the Cure has also expanded outside of their yearly October tournaments. They are hoping to have at least two different tournaments per year that reach out to different causes. Some of their side projects included playing for the Ronald McDonald’s House of Charity in the spring. They were able to help raise money for a family with two kids that were battling Leukemia. 

“The point isn’t to divide people in a competitive way, it’s to bring the entire community together for a cause. It’s very rare that you see people coming together like this because communities have become so segregated and now is the time to change that,” Hachem added.

Play for the Cure’s 4th Annual “PowderPuff Football Game: Dearborn vs. Dearborn Heights” will take place on Sunday October 28th at Fordson High School, with kickoff starting at 6:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased upon entry for $2.00. All  proceeds earned during the game, which includes prizes, raffles and food, will go towards the American Cancer Society. A DJ from  98.7 AMP Radio will also be in attendance. For more information on the group, email them at  playforthecure@yahoo.com.