Big Green turns Big Pink on Thursday, October 8!
For the first time in a while, we will play a rare Thursday night game under the lights at Fairbanks Field—and this one will be about much more than football.
Our October 8 game will be a Pink Out fundraiser benefiting NEKCAN—the Northeast Kingdom Cancer Action Network.
Founded in 2022, NEKCAN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to raising funds and providing direct grant assistance to Northeast Kingdom families battling cancer. Since its founding, NEKCAN has distributed more than $250,000 in grants to our neighbors throughout the NEK, including more than $96,000 in 2025 alone.
The fundraiser is also the senior capstone project of one of our team captains, which makes the night especially meaningful to our football family. We talk a lot about developing young men who understand that being part of a team—and being part of a community—comes with a responsibility to serve something larger than themselves. This is a great example of one of our players doing exactly that.
And our community has responded.
One SJA family donated all of the jerseys for the event. Another family, whose business is a local screen-printing company, is donating the time and materials to personalize every jersey with pink names and numbers.
That’s what makes this night special.
It isn’t just a football game.
It’s a player taking the initiative to help others. It’s families stepping forward to support him. It’s teammates, parents, coaches, and community members coming together to help people in our own backyard who are fighting cancer.
That’s what a football community can be.
So come out to Fairbanks Field on Thursday, October 8.
Wear pink. Support our Hilltoppers. Support NEKCAN. Support your neighbors.
Let’s turn Big Green into Big Pink and show what the Hilltopper football family is all about.
Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for supporting this blog and joining our conversations, and as always, thanks for your time!
