There will be a lot of softball going on over the next few weeks, but one thing off the field that some might not know is happening is the partnership Premier Girls Fastpitch has with the John Wayne Cancer Institute to combat breast cancer.

Teams who play in the PGF Nationals—18U, 12U and 10U this upcoming week and 16U and 14U the week after—have the opportunity to contribute towards the cause with a $100 suggested donation per team.

For each team that does this, every player on the team is given a pink Breast Cancer Awareness bracelet to wear which many wore during competition in previous years.

Last summer, between the team donations and money add by PGF itself, $30,000 was raised and provided to the John Wayne Cancer Institute.

For those old enough to remember the great actor the foundation is named after, it will be of interest to know that his family is directly tied into the PGF event and festivities over the next two weeks.

“This year, John Wayne’s son, Ethan Wayne, who appeared in many films with his father, and John Wayne’s granddaughter, Anita Swift will be speaking at the opening ceremonies and highlighting some of the progress that’s being made to combat breast cancer,” Dan Hay, the President and CEO of PGF said this week.

Kudos to the organization for bringing into the event not just great softball, but a worthy cause to help those who are battling one of the leading causes of death in the nation.

And if you see pink bracelets being worn during the week, you’ll know that the athletes on the field are part of a bigger cause off of it.