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Tight end Jared Cook teamed with his high school to raise money for breast cancer research. |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For the past two years, Titans tight end Jared Cook has held a basketball tournament, named in his honor, at is high school alma mater of North Gwinnet High School located in Suwanee, GA.
The Jared Cook Classic is a tournament for high school basketball teams in and around his hometown of Suwanee, not only to promote healthy competition, but as a part of their regular season basketball schedule.
The Classic, in addition to bringing together many young athletes, coaches, and parents, is also a fundraiser complete with a silent auction. All proceeds from both the silent auction and entry fees from the basketball competitions benefit the Susan G. Koman Foundation for Breast Cancer research as Jared's mother is a breast cancer survivor.
Jared's continued commitment reflects an emerging trend among many professional athletes nationwide who dedicate their time and financial resources to their high school athletic departments that depend on the support of their alumni to harvest the next generation of professional athletes.
The trend also reflects these athletes' willingness to pull resources together, individually or through their own charitable organizations, to generate funds helping support worthy causes such as breast cancer research.
Jared and NFL Charities provided a grant to the school to assist in hosting this event. For more information about the Susan G. Koman Foundation, visit www.Koman.org.