Number of Participants: 28
Hours Donated: 12
Value of Time Served: $2,839
Event Amount Raised: $19,000
Event Type: Health & Medicine
Sport: Volleyball
School: North Salem Middle/ High School
Date: October 15, 2022
Location:
North Salem CSD
June Road, North Salem
NY
About:
Every year, the North Salem Volleyball team partners with the Side-Out Foundation to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The outcome of the 2022 event was absolutely phenomenal. This year, our own senior Gigi LeClair, who lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 13, took charge in leading and organizing the events. She made it her goal to make this year bigger and better than any yet to leave behind a legacy after her graduation.
We started with an event at Bobo’s Cafe, a local coffeehouse, where we accepted donations and in exchange Bobo’s gave a free cup of hot coffee to that individual. We set up a table at the storefront and spoke to everyone that walked by. The most incredible part about this event was the number of people who were coming forward and sharing their own stories about how breast cancer had affected their life or a loved one’s life.
The week of October 15, the team decorated the entire school with pink. The hallways and the gym was covered in the color and posters lined the walls to get everyone excited for the game. We had a pink-out day on Friday, where students and faculty got completely decked out in the color. The next day, we hosted our Dig Pink game and had a concession stand set up outside the gym, collected donations and selling donuts and coffee. A great portion of the student body as well as community members attended the game and supported us.
After we won our game, we headed to the Fire Station in our town, where we held our annual car wash. We posted on social media and had some of the team with signs outside the station to lure cars in. In exchange for a donation, the team would wash a person’s car. We also had more food that was donated to us by local stores, such as Lakeland Deli and Bobo’s, that people could purchase while they waited for their car to be washed.
All in all, the outcome of this year’s fundraiser was fantastic. In total, we raised $18,526, which is the most we have ever raised in school history of doing this event. Our goal coming in to this year was $8,000 and we more than doubled it. It was truly incredible seeing the girls come together for this common cause, seeing people in the community sharing their own stories, and being able to say that we saved someone’s life, as this money will go to someone’s treatment.
I know this event is something the girls will always cherish, especially my group of Seniors.