United Way, Butler Automotive host ACE Classic in support of Breast Cancer Education

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – United Way of Central Georgia and Butler Automotive Group are hosting the 2nd annual Pink Promise United ACE Classic.

The fundraiser event was originally scheduled to be held in May but was rescheduled due to COVID-19.

“Both of my grandmothers have it, and my mother had it twice,” participant Shay Correa said.

Correa played in the tennis tournament to support United Way’s Pink Promise United ACE Classic, a fundraiser for breast cancer.

Correa says she was thrilled after her mother and grandmothers beat breast cancer. Those feelings changed once she started to wonder if she would be next to get breast cancer.

“You’re scared, you don’t know what to expect, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Correa said.

Correa says when her mother was diagnosed the first time, she received a double mastectomy.

Correa says because of her family’s medical history and the uncertainty of her health, she knew she wanted to help other women receive the care they need.

The ACE Classic is a way to ensure women have access to breast cancer education, screenings and readings.

“Pink promise United Initiative, which helps to pay for mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women,” explained President/CEO United Way of Central Georgia George McCanless.

McCanless says the ACE Classic raised close to $130,000 last year, providing free mammograms to close to 100 women. The group hopes to raise nearly $100,000 this year.

“What we want to do is make sure a woman doesn’t have to choose between food for her family or clothes for her children versus getting a mammogram that she needs to have,” McCanless said.

Correa says mammograms help with early detection. She says if her mother or grandmothers were not screened, they may not have been able to catch the cancer in time.

Correa says she gets a screen every six months and encourages other women to do the same, because it could save your life.