Number of Participants: 22
Hours Donated: 8
Value of Time Served: $6,123
Event Amount Raised: $4,000
Event Type: Health & Medicine
Activity: Girls Basketball
School: Salamanca Jr/Sr High School
Date: January 2, 2026
Location:
Salamanca High School
Iroquois Drive, Salamanca
NY
About:
The 6th Annual Swish Away Cancer Game at Salamanca, NY on January 2nd featured the Salamanca Lady Warriors and the Ellicottville Lady Eagles varsity basketball teams. The final score ended in favor of the hosts 58-16 but the game held much more significance than the box score.
The event started in 2020 following the death of former Lady Warriors JV coach, Mark Chase. The dedication was extended years later to honor Darren Ross and Robin Crouse. Darren, father of current senior Charli Ross, was an impactful member of the school community as a youth coach and social worker. Robin, grandmother of current senior, Makenzie Crouse, was an avid girls basketball fan and supporter of Salamanca high school athletics.
Our program and athletes partake in a lot of community outreach to local businesses and their families leading up to the event. We hold an annual Chinese auction basket raffle, bake sale, and t-shirt store for event goers to participate in. Spectators showed up an hour prior to the JV game to check out all the festivities. A bean bag toss contest also occurred at halftime of the JV game and a half court shot contest at halftime of the varsity game to raise more funds.
All proceeds from the event including concessions and 50/50 raffle (which was donated back) will be donated to Roswell Park Cancer Institute and local food pantries in the Great Valley/Ellicottville and Salamanca areas. At the conclusion of the event when our teams have some downtime, we send out personalized thank you cards to all our donors that help make the event possible.
The Salamanca Girls Basketball program truly appreciates the efforts and support from everyone involved and are thankful to live in such a caring community. It is amazing what can be accomplished when people come together for a great cause.
We are proud to announce that this year’s Swish Away Cancer event helped raise a new record high $4,000 for cancer research and for those in need in the surrounding area!
