Gymnasts Come Together, Competing To Help Those Battling Breast Cancer

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Convention Center will be filled with tumbling, vaulting and balancing this weekend. The Pink Invitational is back in town.

Thousands of gymnasts between the ages of eight and 18 are competing this weekend and they're also helping raise money and awareness for women fighting breast cancer.

Decked out in their cute pink outfits the gymnasts spread out across the convention center for the 9th Annual Pink Invitational. It's a sanctioned competition that's also raising money for breast cancer patients.

"The love other people have given us is really overwhelming. We are so touched by how much beauty we've seen in the world while still dealing with the ugliness of cancer," says Karen Corriveau a breast cancer patient. She was diagnosed in June. Her hair has just started growing back after chemo.

Amelie is the oldest of her 3 young children. "When she first told us I was really nervous because I never knew about it before," Amelie said.

The 9-year-old from Connecticut is a gymnast who was given a pink unity grant.

Her mom Karen says, "it's really empowering and feels good, little reminder of how tough it's been." For Amelie, competing is a nice distraction. She says, "I like bars the best cause you get to swing on them and jump on them."

3,500 gymnasts are competing over the weekend. The money raised, expected to be about half a million dollars, will provide breast cancer patients with complimentary therapies. Of the gymnasts, Susan Weldon who started the event says, "they're making a difference changing lives and filling a gap with what isn't included in standard of care now."

Weldon is a former gymnastics coach who also survived breast cancer with the help of acupuncture. But those kind of complimentary therapies typically aren't covered. So Weldon started a group called Unite For Her to help pay for those kind of services for other patients.

She explains, "I felt like there was a gap in the medical community, there had to be better way to help women get restored after treatment."