Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Bayer. She and her family share their story with us below:
Back in 2010, Atlanta had a women’s professional soccer team, The Beat. Our family (Dad Dave, Mom Carey & daughter Emma) became very close to one of the players, McCall Zerboni. We learned that she had recently lost a very close relative, her Aunt Steph, to breast cancer. It was then that we decided to help McCall heal and assist with a great cause. We attended a local Breast Cancer Awareness Fair with a few of the players, raffled off a couple of items and raised $300.
In order to make more of an impact, in a unique way, we came up with the idea of “MZ & Emmers Sports Bra Auction for Breast Cancer”. (“MZ” is, of course, McCall, and “Emmers” is McCall’s nickname for Emma. Em was five years old at the time.) We collected 84 autographed/decorated sports bras from professional women’s soccer players, including the Canadian National Team and a team from Iceland. They were all posted to eBay for an auction, and $4400 was raised. Since that time, we expanded to include all female athletes, musicians, actresses, comedians, models, public figures and added autographed photos, DVD’s, Cd’s, etc. We’ve had items from Jane Fonda, Carol Burnett, Chelsea Handler, Ronda Rousey, World Cup champions Grace Slick, just to name a few. Over 1000 items have been sold and $64,000 raised.
Our beneficiary is Keep-A-Breast Foundation. Their mission is to reduce breast cancer risk and its impact globally through art, education, prevention, and action. They are also known for their “I Love Boobies” slogan. They have been very supportive & appreciative of our efforts.
We are now known as “Em-Powerment”, after Emma & our desire to empower women. An auction for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is taking place now.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Social media makes it very easy for us to send requests for signed items from prospective donors. Over the years, we have sent out thousands. Receiving positive responses is the struggle. Most of our tweets, emails, and Facebook messages never receive a reply. We keep trying though because we are dedicated to the cause!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Emma is now 15 and a 10th grade student. She is also an equestrian.
Contact Info:
- Email: diract22@gmail.com
- Instagram: mzemmers
- Facebook: facebook.com/mzemmers
- Twitter: @MZ_Emmers
- Other: mzemmerssportsbraauction (eBay)
