The Charlotte Jewish News- November 2026- Page 10
At 13, Celebrate the Tatas Takes Stock and Looks Ahead
By Elizabeth Johnson Thirteen years ago, Talia Goldman and her fellow organizers from the North Carolina Adult Soccer Association started with a simple idea: bring women together to play soccer and raise money to help uninsured and underinsured women in greater Charlotte afford mammograms.
Since its founding, Celebrate the Tatas has raised more than $ 300,000, benefiting Novant Health and Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute. Novant Health alone has provided more than 600 mammograms through those fundraising efforts, according to Goldman. Cumulative figures from Atrium Health are still pending.
This year, the nonprofit marked its 13th anniversary with a ribbon-cutting at its annual Soccer Tournament of Champions in Huntersville. Goldman, the organization’ s cofounder and co-chair, connected the milestone to the Jewish tradition of becoming a bat mitzvah, an occasion to celebrate and accept greater responsibility within the community.
“ We never imagined that this little tournament would grow into a community movement that has helped provide access to potentially lifesaving screenings for women who might otherwise go without,” Goldman said.
Her commitment is personal. Her mother battled cancer five times over 35 years, and a mammogram helped save her life, Goldman said.
“ My mother taught me that one mammogram can change or save a life,” she said.“ Thirteen years later, I feel an even greater responsibility to make sure other women have that same opportunity.”
Twenty teams participated in this year’ s tournament. Organizers spent the preceding week carefully watching forecasts and preparing for rain, but the weather held. Huntersville Mayor Christy Clark and two town commissioners joined the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Participants also heard from Noah Goldman, Israel & Global Jewry Associate, Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, who spoke about his late mother’ s commitment to Celebrate the Tatas, and Catherine Barrall, who recounted her own breast cancer diagnosis.
“ This is a very special tournament,” said Noah.“ It brings people together around something that has a real impact on our community. My mom advocated strongly for early detection and screening because she knew the difference they could make. Celebrate the Tatas honors women who have faced breast cancer while helping others access screenings that could save their lives. My mom believed in living life to the fullest. She went skydiving, on safaris, scaled walls and so much more. There are few better ways to honor her legacy than helping other women have the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest.”
Guest speakers Catherine Barrall and Noah Goldman share a smile on the pitch.
Celebrate the Tatas organizers. From left: Sam Cohen, NCASA president; Alex Viaurri, NCASA women’ s commissioner; Talia Goldman, co-founder of Celebrate the Tatas; Darius Ejlali, NCASA executive director and NC Soccer Hall of Fame member; Cindy Morrison-Ejlali, NCASA head administrator
Catherine Barrall, 36, described the mammogram that led to her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year. One of her best friends was battling breast cancer, prompting Barrall to get screened herself. She described her decision as a whim but also recalled a gut feeling that she should have the mammogram.
That day, she received a message from her insurer saying the screening would cost $ 750 because she was younger than 40 and asking whether she still wanted to proceed. Her company ultimately covered the cost, she said. Her mammogram results led to a breast cancer diagnosis.
“ I have done seven months of treatment this year and just got to ring the bell three weeks ago,” Barrall said, drawing applause from the crowd.“ Even for me $ 750 is a ton of money, but it’ s crazy to think what would have happened if I didn’ t do that.”
The fundraising now extends beyond soccer. An inaugural mahjong tournament, Don’ t Touch My Rack, sold out in record time ahead of its Oct. 11 date.
Goldman said the organization’ s partnerships and the trust it has earned over 13 years carry a responsibility to reach more women and remove financial barriers to screening. For her, that responsibility defines what it means for Celebrate the Tatas to come of age.
“ For us, success isn’ t measured dollars raised alone,” she
said.“ It’ s measured in the number of women who have access to a potentially lifesaving mammogram because our community came together to help.”
Celebrate the Tatas raises funds to provide mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women in greater Charlotte through partnerships with Novant Health and Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute. The organization is not affiliated with Hadassah. For more information, visit celebratethetatas. org.
Huntersville Mayor Christy Clark participates in a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the 13th annual Celebrate the Tatas Soccer Tournament.