Friday’s clash between the Dowagiac Chieftains and the Paw Paw Redskins under the bright lights of Chris Taylor Alumni Field will offer more than just a fun night of pigskin action to vistors lining the stands that evening.

It will also serve as the “kickoff” for the Lee Memorial Foundation’s annual campaign against breast cancer in the community.

The local hospital foundation and Dowagiac Union Schools Athletic Department are once again partnering to host the third annual “Pink Out” in conjunction with Friday’s game, which begins at 7 p.m. True to the name of the event, members of the Chieftain football team will dress in pink and white uniforms, in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

In addition, visitors who wear pink will be charged only $1 for admission, with the money raised going toward the Lee Foundation’s annual Tree of Love Campaign, which raises money to pay for mammograms for Cass County women who are uninsured or underinsured.

The festivities start at 6:30 p.m., when a truck from True’s Towing will transport a group of local cancer survivors onto the field, ahead of the Chieftain Marching Band.

Members of Cass County Cancer Services and the local Wings of Hope will also have a booth near the north entrance of the stadium, where they will hand out information on the services they provide to people battling cancer in the area. Employees with the Dowagiac Honor Credit Union branch will also have a table at the stadium, and will give pink colored swag to guests.

“It [the Pink Out game] is another great example of the community coming together for a great cause,” said Jeremy Truitt, a member of the Lee Foundation board and one of the architects of the event. “Every year, the event has gotten a little bigger and little better, with more and more people involved. It helps us spread to word to more people who are trying to kick cancer’s butt.”

Truitt and the foundation first partnered with the schools three years ago to create the event, intended to serve as the kickoff for the Tree of Love Fundraiser. Truitt said that the game promotes the campaign to a wide section of the Dowagiac community, especially to women who may not know they are eligible for a free breast cancer screening through Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital.

Last year, the game generated $1,000 for the campaign: more than 10 percent of the foundation’s goal, Truitt said.

Kick starting the campaign again this year is a $500 donation from the local Honor Credit Union branch. Beginning Friday, the office will collect donations for the Tree of Love campaign — people who donate $8 or more will receive a complementary pink tote bag.

This is the second straight year that Honor has helped the Lee Foundation with the cause.

“For me, it is about the awareness,” said Dowagiac Branch Manager Janie Reifenberg. “The Tree of Love is the best kept secret in Cass County.”

The company’s efforts to promote the annual breast cancer fundraiser have been a huge assistance to the foundation, which is looking to raise $9,000 for this year’s campaign, said foundation president Tom Carlson.

“It’s a great thing that Honor has done for us,” Carlson said. “They have taken this cause by the horn and really run with it. It’s been great for the hospital and great for the community.”

The Tree of Love campaign will collect donations through December. The annual tree lighting ceremony will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, at Farr Park outside Borgess-Lee, 420 W. High St., Dowagiac.