Number of Participants: 120
Hours Donated: 4
Value of Time Served: $4,056
Event Amount Raised: $3,691
Event Type: Health & Medicine
Sport: Basketball
Date: February 4, 2022
Location:
Needham High School
Webster Street, Needham
MA
About:
The final amount that we raised was $3,691! The goal was $2,000.
The unique thing about this game was that it wasn’t just one team or program that joined in for the amazing cause. It was Needham basketball on both the boys’ and the girls side and on every level from first year, JV, and varsity. The girls opponent was Bridgewater Raynham for the day and a big part of the success of the day was their program’s willingness to jump right in and support the cause. In total, the number of athletes between 5 needham teams and 3 BR teams would be roughly 120.
Hours would be tough to nail down. However, I know I can speak for my team that we spent some time before the game sending emails to family and friends with the link to donate included. We spent some time writing names on cards of those we know affected by cancer.
They helped out by raising funds through emails to those close to them and beyond. Our teams were excited to wear pink socks to outwardly show our support. They spread the word to family and friends and throughout the games for the day the athletes passed around a donation bucket. Unfortunately our boys games were cancelled and we still had the spectator limit. So the day-of involvement was limited due to this.
Unfortunately, for the varsity team, we’ve lost family members to cancer in the recent months and years. A few years ago we lost Mark Oberle. Mark and his wife were needham sports super fans but he especially loved basketball. Carol, his wife, still comes to our games today despite all of their children being adults and no longer Needham athletes. Mark was the dad of a girls basketball player my first year at needham. Just an all around great guy who loved life and most especially his family. After his daughter graduated he still attended games and our friendship grew through his support. When we were in need of a PA announcer for our home games, Mark was excited at the opportunity. For many years, mark was the voice of the lady rockets. Each year at our end of the year banquet we give out the mark Oberle award. This award is in honor of Mark and is given to the player who embodies selflessness, determination, and shows a fighting spirit. The award is a Panera gift card as Mark and I enjoyed a few meals there where he loved their lemonade.
The last thing I will say from the girls perspective is that we would not have raised that much money if the BR coaches were not as invested as they were. They jumped right in and began fundraising as well. They wore t shirts to warm up to show their support of cancer awareness. Without their support that number would have been lower. Happy to put you in contact with their coach as well.