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Reminder Assistant Editor LONGMEADOW The movie "Dodgeball" details the five D's of the sport: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge. The Sport and Event Management classes at Longmeadow High School added another D to that list following their dodgeball tournament last month: donate. The afterschool dodgeball tournament, which involved 32 teams, raised $1,400 through player registration fees, the sale of T-shirts and refreshments and the help of local business sponsors. John Pantuosco, a teacher of the course, said the group had a goal of raising $1,500. "This is a very generous group of kids," Pantuosco said. "What I've learned about Longmeadow students is that once they put their minds to something, there's nothing they can't accomplish." The Sport and Event Management classes hosted the dodgeball tournament to raise funds for A Better Chance (ABC), a non-profit organization that aims to help economically disadvantaged students realize their full potential. The funds raised were presented to Robert and Sara McKeown, representatives of the Longmeadow chapter of ABC during a morning ceremony at the high school last Thursday. In addition to the donation of the money raised, the McKeowns were invited to view a 10-minute video presentation highlighting the best moments of the tournament. Robert told the assembled students that their donation represents about three percent of the local ABC's annual $50,000 budget. "This is fabulous," Robert said. "Their work really adds to the experience for kids like Alex [McKeithen, an ABC student and senior at the high school]." There are currently three ABC students in Longmeadow High School McKeithen, a sophomore and a freshman. "There's not a lot of room for extras in our budget," Sara explained. "With a budget, you have to say no to some things. With this [donation], we can say yes." The McKeowns plan on asking the Longmeadow chapter's board to use the donation for something specific, perhaps an upgraded study area for students at the ABC house. McKeithen, who has been a student at the high school for four years, said it was nice to see something done for ABC. "A lot of things need to be done [for the program]," he said. He added that although it was a very different environment for him when he started at Longmeadow High School, he's "grown to love" the school. McKeithen will be attending Howard University in the fall. "This was all done for a great cause," high school principal Larry Berte stated. "The students stepped up and excelled. They talk a lot about giving back. It's nice to see the kids do something for the community." Senior Sam McGrath, a member of the tournament's winning Team Stewy, said everything about the event was fun. "It was fun planning, fun playing and fun winning, of course," McGrath said. "We were really happy with the outcome." ABC has two upcoming fundraisers in the next two months. On May 10, they will be hosting their annual plant sale and on June 6, the high school will be hosting a comedy show featuring student comedians Andrew Brown and Stephanie DeGiulio as well as some professionals. To learn more about ABC, visit www.abetterchance.org. | ||||||
