BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A Baton Rouge sports card shop is helping families fighting breast cancer through BRProud’s ‘Men Wear Pink’ campaign. The co-owner said a robbery last month did not deter him from wanting to help others.
Jerry Erckert and his wife own AJ’s Sports Cards on Drusilla Lane in Baton Rouge.
“We carry everything from baseball, football, basketball, Pokémon, soccer to hobby boxes, retail boxes,” Erckert said.
The Erckert’s are helping BRProud’s campaign to raise money for the American Cancer Society through ‘Men Wear Pink’. The money gives free lodging and travel money to families battling breast cancer.
Erckert said his family has a history with cancer, so the decision to help was personal.
“My father’s had cancer,” Erckert said. “He survived twice. His brothers passed from cancer; his mother passed from cancer. So, cancer is pretty strong in our family.”
Throughout Oct., 10% of all Wednesday sales will go to the ‘Men Wear Pink’ campaign. Additionally, a silent auction featuring signed memorabilia from Joe Burrow, Angel Reese and Dylan Crews will raise more money.
This comes at a time when every dollar counts for AJ’s Sports Cards. Last month, robbers targeted the store, getting away with valuable cards and boxes.
“They took a lot from us, and we’ve just had to kind of learn from it and move forward,” Erckert said.
Despite money being tighter this month, Erckert said he never considered backing out of his support for ‘Men Wear Pink’. He said doing good is important no matter the circumstances.
“We’re not deterred,” Erckert said. “We’re going to keep going. Business as usual.”
