Just three weeks remain in the regular season for the LSU gymnastics team. And this week includes a good cause.No. 10 LSU (5-4-1. 2-3-1) hosts No. 6 Oregon St. (10-1, 5-1) in the third annual Etta James Memorial Meet on Friday night. The meet is sponsored by former LSU and current Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bradie James’ Foundation 56. James began Foundation 56 in 2007 as a way of honoring his mother, Etta James, who died of breast cancer in 2002.”Losing my mother to breast cancer has connected me to this issue,” James said Wednesday. James was a sophomore at LSU when his mother died. Just months earlier, James also had to deal with the loss of his father to liver disease. “We had just won the Peach Bowl, and my dad died a couple months before my mom,” James said. “So I was still dealing with that, and then her situation happened. And she knew I probably wouldn’t have taken it real well, but it ended up working out.”LSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux heard about Foundation 56 soon after its inception and was immediately interested in becoming involved in the cause. Breaux said this year’s meet should be another success. “This is a huge event for LSU gymnastics and Foundation 56,” Breaux said. “And the third event is shaping up to be the best one yet.”Since its beginning, Foundation 56 has raised more than $200,000 for breast cancer awareness in both the Baton Rouge and Dallas areas. The two previous Etta James Memorial gymnastics meets brought in more than 13,000 fans and raised more than $80,000. “That’s huge considering what the economic times they are,” James said. “We’ve made impacts in the community, not only here but in Dallas also, but most of the money does stay in this community.”The main message James hopes to convey through Foundation 56 is awareness. That message is intended for both men and women. “Breast cancer doesn’t just affect women — it affects the whole family,” James said. “I try to talk to our men because we need our men to really step up and become the caretakers.”James is a major part of Foundation 56, but he also has a hand in helping underprivileged children. The “James Gang” youth initiative annually sponsors a football camp in James’ hometown of Monroe. James also helped needy children in the Dallas area by giving away Dallas Cowboys backpacks filled with school supplies this past summer.LSU senior Kayla Rogers said the gymnastics team does many different community service activities throughout the year, but the Etta James meet is by far the Tigers’ favorite. “It’s a phenomenal feeling,” Rogers said. “We do a lot of volunteer work during the year, but this is the culmination of all of our volunteer hours. It’s a huge deal — the biggest thing we’ve ever been involved in.” Much of the focus this week has been on Foundation 56, but LSU senior Summer Hubbard said the team is focused and excited about competing in front of a large crowd. “We feed off of the crowd,” Hubbard said. “It’s just like any other meet except we get more of a crowd. We just know what we’re doing is for a great cause.”- – – -Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]